Protected Areas of Sustainable Use, Involvement of Social Actors, and Biodiversity Conservation in the Várzea: The Case of the Mamirauá Reserve—Sharing Conservation Benefits in Central Amazonia, Brazil

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Abstract

Biodiversity conservation in the Amazonian várzea depends heavily on the protection of large portions of this threatened environment. In the Brazilian Amazon there is a handful of protected areas with significant portions of várzea, but only one large protected area entirely formed by this particular ecosystem, the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve (MSDR), created by the Amazonas State government in the early 1990’s. This reserve has been comanaged by a Brazilian NGO since its creation, in continuing cooperation between public and private efforts for the conservation of the várzea and its biodiversity. Here, we present the trajectory of this protected area, and a special emphasis is given for one of the most relevant elements of Mamirauá, the involvement of different social actors interested and concerned with local protection and conservation. In the case of the Mamirauá Reserve, this involvement was crucial to deal with the many challenges related to the protection of such a large portion of the territory. The combined efforts of government, NGOs, and the local population, among other actors, also made possible a strong positive impact on the maintenance of local livelihoods and the improvement of the quality of life for the local inhabitants. Possibly as a consequence of that improvement, increasing population growth rates may now pose a threat for the near future of the reserve, and require new, enhanced forms of sustainable use for local biodiversity. Besides that, it is important to maintain the widespread distribution of benefits from these conservation practices for all social actors involved.

Keywords

Amazonian várzea Protected areas Mamirauá Reserve Sustainable use of natural resources Local community participation and involvement 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

This text is a compilation of information produced by a large number of people, members or collaborators of the Mamirauá Institute, who have been producing strong data in time series since 1994. I thank each and all of them for the very important information. Among them, I am very thankful to Míriam Marmontel, Andréa Pires, João Valsecchi do Amaral, Edila Moura, Ana Claudeíse do Nascimento, Ellen Amaral, and Ana Rita Alves. Members of the villages of the Mamirauá and Amanã Reserves are always responsible for a big part of the work, and I am also grateful to them. Most of the inspiration for the group of people working at the Mamirauá Institute, which is very briefly described in this paper, still comes from the teachings of Márcio Ayres, a true believer.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável MamirauáTeféBrazil

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