Land use planning around protected areas: Case studies in four state parks in the Atlantic forest region of southeastern Brazil

Abstract

The creation of buffer zones (BZs) around protected areas (PAs) has been proposed as a way to conciliate the effective protection of biodiversity and human occupation in surrounding areas. In this study, we seek to discuss some of the challenges to effective buffer zones, focusing our attention on investigating two instruments used for the planning of these areas: the management plan of protected areas, and the municipal master plan. To achieve this, we evaluated the planning of land use around protected areas, as established in the management plans of four protected areas, located in southeastern Brazil, as well as in the master plans of the municipalities covered by these protected areas. We found that these management plans established recommendations rather than specific rules for the use of resources of the buffer zones. Additionally, we verified no uniformity between the master plans on the topic of municipal zoning in the BZs of the PAs studied: only five of the fourteen master plans surveyed delineated a zone around the protected area and defined guidelines for land use consistent with its protection. The results of this study indicate that the use of the buffer zone as an effective strategy for the management of protected areas requires a link between the PA managers and the local government responsible for land use planning, in order to facilitate the articulation between the management plan of the PA and the municipal master plan. Otherwise, the establishment of the buffer zone risks being only a symbolic action, with no practical effect on biodiversity conservation within the protected area.

Elephant Crop Damage: Subsistence Farmers’ Social Vulnerability, Livelihood Sustainability and Elephant Conservation

“…Thus, the emergent HEC conflicts needed constant creation, adoption and application of innovations [47]. Implementing appropriate land-use plans could militate against conflicting land uses of agriculture and wildlife [74], occurring in Lupande GMA where such land-use plans are non-existent. There is a need for managing the marauding elephants, using specified norms and standards [75].…”

Beyond the park and city dichotomy: Land use and land cover change in the northern coast of São Paulo (Brazil)

“…The federal legislation is usually complemented by the management plan of each protected area; the management plan of Serra do Mar State park (2006) establishes the strategic spatial plan for park management, defining different zones (including protective buffer zones around park limits), and its allowed uses.Considering this, we suggest that both instruments have been equally important for the observed forest persistence and afforestation process, and we recommend more effort by park managers in elaborating and implementing the required management plans. Several protected areas are created without having a management plan in place, or with plans that not integrated with other local land use plans, making it difficult to promote nature conservation strategies that are aligned with the economic and social life of neighbouring communities(Brasil, 2000;Freitas Lima;…”

Assessing the role of protected areas in the land-use change dynamics of a biodiversity hotspot

“…The creation of buffer zones around PAs is an approach that has been proposed to conciliate the protection of biodiversity and the human occupation of the surroundings (Freitas-Lima and Ranieri 2018 ). It resembles the well-known land-sharing versus land-sparing mechanism (Green et al 2005 ).…”