Proposta metodológica para padronização dos estudos de atitudes em comunidades adjacentes à s unidades de conservação de proteção integral no Brasil

Abstract

The effectiveness in achieving conservation goals is considered one of the greatest challenges in the management of protected areas. In Brazil, the Conservation Units (CUs) belonging to the category of
strict protection play a key role in conserving biodiversity, although they are not free from social conflicts. These conflicts are often associated with individual behaviors that can compromise the conservation objectives (e.g.: hunting, deforestation, etc.), leading to an increase in local crimes against CUs, which inturn require more resources that could be otherwise spent in management and preventive actions. Thus, it
is essential to better understand the factors that shape the behavior of local communities surrounding CUs,
as they are the most important stakeholders of the protected area. Given that attitudes are important drivers of individual behaviors, such studies on attitudes related to CUs can play a crucial role in the management
of PAs and provide a tool for: (i) evaluating the agreement between the values of CUs establishment and the communities; (ii) supporting the implementation and monitoring of strategies for social change in relation to
biodiversity conservation; (iii) mitigating local conflicts; (iv) providing indicators to monitor the effectiveness
of conservation and awareness programs; (v) contributing to the management of buffer zones. In this article, we aim to propose a methodology based on socio-environmental research and to provide a protocol for assessing local communities' attitudes in areas surrounding strict- protection CUs. The method consists of three main steps: (1) the development of the questionnaire based on a general framework elaborated by literature review; (2) the formulation of a standardized protocol to apply the questionnaire; and (3) the
application of the questionnaire in the surrounding communities of a National Park. Here, the generic
framework is presented with the application of the questionnaire in the Catimbau National Park (state of
Pernambuco). The results showed the point of view of communities in relation to the Park and outlined
important behavioral patterns. For example, younger people were more positive about the Park, and farmers
were more favorable in terms of natural resource exploitation inside the Park (e.g. timber, firewood and
hunting). A greater inclusion of society in activities directly related to the conservation (e.g.: monitoring of
invasive or problematic species, participatory zoning, etc.) and the development of appropriate educational
and awareness programs were suggested to CU's managers.