The nature(s) of Environmental Protected Area Macaé de Cima (Rio de Janeiro - Brazil): perceptions, dilemmas and conflicts

Abstract

The creation and management of protected areas (PA) involve a complex problem, since it integrates tensions and conflicts originated by the institutionalization of these areas by the State and by the territorial planning and management. Often, this is because opposing interests between social groups, with different meanings about the nature and about what nature needs to be protected. In this context, the purpose of this article was to elaborate a historical (re)construction of the creation and implementation of the Macaé de Cima Environmental Protected Area and to analyze which one(s) and how the “nature(s)” has been protected. The methodology involved a literature review and interviews with managers, advisers, owners and farmers, between 2013 and 2019. The results indicate three visions of nature that sometimes mix with each other: the contemplative/bucolic nature, the utilitarian nature and the scientific nature.

Keywords:
Protected areas; Nature protection; Environmental management