Efetividade de Conselhos Gestores na gestão participativa de Unidades de Conservação de Uso Sustentável no Amazonas

Abstract

In the Conservation Units for sustainable use, management councils are established as spaces for democratic participation, formalized with the presence of representatives of government institutions, civil society, residents and users organizations, with equal decision-making power. The consolidation of these councils through their effective functioning should provide mechanisms for joint and integrated management with all active social segments in these territorial spaces. In the state of Amazonas, councils analyzed in this study, with emphasis on those of sustainable use, showed different levels of effectiveness considering participatory management advocated by law, the historical processes and social achievements, social and environmental contexts and assessment of relative powers between the member organizations and taking as references the participation of directors meetings, referrals, and their representativeness. Thus, participatory evaluation methodologies applied in the study enabled the assessment of habitual actions undertaken by councils, compared to those provided by law, using a simplified and easy to understand tools for counselors, offering precise indicators for the analysis of the effectiveness of management. The assessment tools tested showed satisfactory and valid results when compared to each other, considering as main point of the analysis the performed deliberations and indicators of importance, participation and performance of the council. A unique methodology for analyzing the effectiveness of management councils is presented, establishing a new method for monitoring the performance of directors and proposals are developed to cope with the functional vulnerability of councils and to qualify the management of protected areas.