Reserve’s Councils’ Perceptions on Participative Biodiversity Monitoring for Amazonia Protected Areas Administration

Abstract

The Biodiversity Participative Monitoring (MPB) is a tool aiming to help the management of protected areas. It gathers local stakeholders that inhabit these areas and its surroundings, thus creating a culture of wondering and respect of the forest, its resources and use. The Monitora Program from Chico Mendes Institute of Biodiversity (ICMBio) in partnership with Institute of Ecological Research (IPÊ) are implementing the MPB in reserves throughout Amazonia. Here, we analyzed the perception of the reserve’s administrative councils about MPB meaning and impact aiming to understand the interactions between council and participative monitoring as strategies for social participation in reserves administration. The MPB Project is developed in 16 federal and 2 state reserves in Amazonia. For this evaluation we applied semi-structured questionnaires. These questionnaires were answered during administrative councils and local reserve leadership meetings from March to June in 2019. A total of 205 board members and leaders from 12 of the 18 reserves participated in the survey. The results show that the knowledge and perceptions about the themes vary among the interviewed, nevertheless there is a general comprehension about the importance of the monitoring to the administration and conservation of the reserves. Participative approaches and open dialogue spaces with the reserve’s administrative council create a sense of belonging between administration and local communities and institutions. It promotes awareness and contribute to conservation and management actions.