Governance or Tragedy of the Commons? Considerations on the Management of Hunting in Conservation Units of Sustainable Use in Brazil

Abstract

In the last decades, the contributions of common pool resources (CPR) research were important to advance in the understanding of how to realize a common management of natural resources without incurring in the tragedy of the commons, that is to say, without leading to the exhaustion of the resource. Formal and informal institutions play a key role in resource management, since rules can function as efficient regulation measures. Some factors are considered basic to ensure efficient management, especially regarding the guarantee of rights of access and use and co-management of the resource. Subsistence hunting is an activity commonly practiced in protected areas of sustainable use in Brazil, but if practiced without regulation can lead the resource to over exploration. So, like any common use, should also be regulated so that management can succeed in allying the need for conservation of species with the needs of local resource users. Consideration should be given to the possible impacts of hunting, the characteristics of the wildlife resource and the different management scales, in order to establish adequate and effective regulation measures. However, current Brazilian legislation makes it difficult to implement management measures. Hunting in Brazil is still controversial and in this way hunting ends up being subject to free access and propitious to the tragedy of the commons. Sustainable use protected areas are an opportunity to advance in these aspects and, thus, in the management of subsistence hunting in Brazil.