Empoderamento de comunidades rurais e o estabelecimento de uma Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável: Estudo de caso nos Areais da Ribanceira, Imbituba – SC

Abstract

– In this study our objective was to analyze the empowerment of the community Areais
da Ribanceira, in the municipality of Imbituba (Santa Catarina, Brazil). People from this community
are engaged in a struggle for the recognition to maintain the traditional livelihood and for the establishment
of a Sustainable Development Reserve, a protected area of sustainable use. Studies of empowerment in
the context of protected area management collaborate to establish a kind of biodiversity conservation that
actually allows the inclusion and involvement of local communities in the conservation process. Data were
collected through interviews with members of household units, local leaders and external stakeholders,
and through workshops and use of participatory research tools with the community and local leaders.
The empowerment of the community of Areais da Ribanceira is more developed in the social domain, as
compared to the legal and economic domains. The threat of losing its territory was the main motivation that
allowed the organization of the community, and several community management activities contributed to
the local empowerment. The organization and mobilization of the community of Areais da Ribanceira are
factors that facilitate the process of creating a Sustainable Development Reserve