Abstract
Besides conservation of biodiversity, the Units of Conservation must promote public use in contact with nature, and become an economic resource for the region, bringing society closer to nature and promoting its sustainable use. In Brazil, there are rules of the Ministry of Environment and Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation that regulate guided tours in Federal Units of Conservation. Remains to know how the activity is regulated in other spheres of the National System of Units of Conservation. Therefore, this article aims to identify the legal frameworks for the activity of guiding visitors in the Units of Conservation of the States and their compliance to the guidelines of the Ministry of Environment. The methodology used was documentary research and data survey of the legal frameworks, carried out through research on the websites and by sending emails to state management agencies. The regulations of the Units were compared to the guidelines to verify the compliance with these. The percentage of federal units of Brazil which have a legal framework of the activity is 18.5%, and only Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro meet almost all of the guidelines. In conclusion, there is still a long way ahead when it comes to the creation of rules and procedures that simultaneously encourage visits accompanied by qualified nature guides and biodiversity conservation. Thus, state management agencies must be committed to the development of these legal frameworks, promoting improvements in the development of the activity and awareness of society.
Keywords:
Unit of Conservation; Public use; Nature Guide; Regulation