A mosaic of environmental protection areas

The concept and classification of a Conservation Unit for Sustainable Use known as an Environmental Protection Area (APA) are provided for under Law 9.985/00 – National System of Nature Conservation Units (SNUCs). An APA is usually a large area, with a certain degree of human occupation, containing abiotic, biotic, esthetic or cultural attributes that are especially important for the quality of life and well-being of human populations and whose basic objectives are to protect biological diversity, discipline the occupation process and ensure the sustainability of the use of natural resources as established in Article 15 of the aforementioned Law.

Even though the law does not specifically regulate the APAs, the decree regulating the SNUCs establishes general rules that admit the use of natural products and allow economic activities within APAs, as long as they are compatible with environmental conservation — the so-called sustainability of the use of natural resources. An APA is managed by a council made up of representatives of public agencies, civil society organizations and the resident populations, as established in Decree 4.349/2002, which regulated the SNUC Law.

Under the terms of the SNUC Law, when there is a group of conservation units they must be managed in an integrated and participatory manner even though they are of different categories, as long as they are close, juxtaposed or superimposed, making up a mosaic. The management of such an area must take into account the different conservation objectives and strive to maintain the compatibility of the biodiversity and appreciation of sociodiversity and sustainable development within the context of the region.

This mosaic can be managed by a interinstitutional council or committee made up of representatives from the Brazilian Environmental and Renewable Natural Resources Institute (IBAMA), of the state environmental agency, the public prosecutor’s office, civil society organizations or even public interest organizations, the so-called OSCIPs (NGO´s), as long as their objectives are in step with those of the unit and the OSCIP has been created through an instrument signed by the organization responsible for its management.

The creation of a mosaic will come about through an act of the Ministry of the Environment upon the request of the agencies that manage the conservation units and, as mentioned above, a consulting council must exercise integrated management. The interinstitutional council or committee will follow a set of internal regulations and must propose guidelines and actions designed to make compatible, to integrate and to enhance the activities carried out in each conservation unit (or in each APA). Among other actions, these should take into account access to and inspection of the conservation units, monitoring and scientific research and the relationship with the population that is resident within the mosaic.

The SNUC Law establishes that for granting an environmental license to any project that has a significant environmental impact the project manager is obliged to (1) earmark an amount equivalent to, at minimum, 0.5% of the total costs of the project towards compensating the possibility of affecting the natural resources that exist in the conservation unit, and (2) obtaining authorization from the responsible agency for the Administration of each conservation unit that could be affected by the activity.

For this standard, the proposal for the creation of a mosaic for the integrated management of the APAs located within the area of influence of an activity with a significant environmental impact facilitates the administration of these APAs, and could generate an institutional model organized to be managed by an interinstitutional committee, according to a management plan that has been prepared in detail in compliance with legal requirements. Furthermore, the setting up of this mosaic will make it possible to jointly manage the application of funds to be earmarked for the APAs. These funds could be employed in joint training and qualification of local populations in sustainable activities, something that also could mitigate the possible impact caused by the activities.