Socio-environmental conflicts and limits of shared management in a Conservation Unit in the Amazon coastal zone

Abstract

The paper discusses the emergence of socio-environmental conflicts and the limits of shared territory management in Brazilian Amazonian coastal zone. Particularly, the article debates socio-environmental conflicts and the limits of shared management in 3 (three) Conservation Units (UC) in the coastal zone of Pará state, precisely: RESEX Mãe Grande de Curuçá, RESEX Mestre Lucindo and APA Algodoal- Maiandeua. Theoretically, the paper is based on the concepts of socio-environmental conflict and shared management, the latter within the analytical field of social management. Methodologically, it is a study based on action research supported by method of participant observation and techniques of semi-structured interviews. For data examination, it was used the method of network analysis. The article demonstrates the existence of four categories of conflicts: (1) first, conflicts related to economic enterprises, (2) second, those related to the degradation of the environment and natural resources, (3) third, conflicts that arise from local economic and occupational practices and (4) fourth, those resulting of legal and social inferences. The different categories and types of conflict demonstrate the complexity that management councils face in the shared management process. The research shows that shared management has limitations, however it is, so far, the best pattern for UC management. The article concludes that shared management is a process and practice and that it becomes more potent as the actors involved gain experience and increasingly promote dialogue and well-understood interest based on social participation.