The Amazon Protected Areas Program (ARPA): participation, local development, and governance in the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

The management of Protected Areas (PAs) in Brazil has been slowly incorporated the concept of participative governance, promoting the involvement and participation of local populations. There is a direct relationship between governance and effective management of PAs in such way that conservation of territories with involvement of local communities brings benefits to the society for a very low cost. The Amazon Protected Areas Program (ARPA) is a program launched by the Brazilian government in 2002 that supports 59,2 million hectares of PAs, making it the most ambitious biodiversity conservation program in the world. The main objectives of the ARPA include to protecting representative samples of biodiversity, ecosystems and associated landscapes, as well as maintaining of the environmental services. Based on decentralized and participative management principles, the Program also supports local communities, developing and implementing strategies of sustainable use of natural resources. Particularly, the subcomponent “integration of communities” supports 23 action plans, based on social and environmental safeguards of World Bank. This study presents the results of 14 action plans, which have been monitored and evaluated over the past two years. Methodology included participative workshops with PAs managers, along with fieldwork research for accomplishing activities with local stakeholders. Moreover, action plans have been evaluated throughout progress reports, meetings acts, and other documents related to the implementation of the plans. Ten out of 14 action plans have presented significant advances in the sustainable management of natural resources, community organization, and income generation. We found that positive results include establishment of partnerships among different organizations (e.g. local organizations, NGOs, universities, and research institutes); empowerment of local communities and more participation of stakeholders in the councils of PAs; improvements of communication and knowledge interchanges between stakeholders, communities, and managers; and strengthening of institutional dialogue. The main challenges concerning the successful implementation of the action plans include lack of human resources, high staff turnover, and bureaucracy related to the financial resources execution. We conclude that local development can significantly contribute to the effective management and conservation of PAs.