The Protected Landscape Approach - Centre for Mediterranean ...

The Protected Landscape Approach: Linking Nature, Culture and Community
century, resulting in emigration to other parts of the state where economic development was
flourishing.
However, a local people named caiçaras – a blend of indigenous, African and European
people – remained in the area, fishing, hunting and gathering products both from the forest and
the mangrove, and practising subsistence agriculture. They lived according to communal rules
and natural cycles – expressing their culture through dance, music and religion. This picture
was unchanged until the 1950s, when roads (and later highways) expanded in Brazil. Other
communities – such as the quilombolas, descended from settlements of escaped slaves – also
survived and lived in the area until today. At the same time, an antiquated political structure,
based on a few family oligarchies, has also been preserved.
The Cananéia-Iguape-Peruíbe APA was created during a wave of protected area establishment
in Brazil in the 1980s, reflecting growing concern about environmental protection. The
Serro do Mar APA (also in the state of São Paulo) was established during the same period. An
important aim for both APAs was conservation of the Atlantic Forest; their designation
provided a way to create not only a vegetation corridor, but also to promote the linkage between
the coastal and mountain eco-systems. In addition to the exceptional environmental resources
and wildlife in the area, an important attribute to be protected by the Cananéia-Iguape-Peruíbe
APA was the caiçara people’s way of life, which emerged as a strong motivating factor for
participatory involvement in management.
The Cananéia-Iguape-Peruíbe APA encompasses seven municipalities in the Ribeira
Valley, with a total area of about 234,000ha. The objectives of this APA are: a) to allow the
local original people (caiçaras) to maintain their traditional activities according to historical
patterns and techniques; b) to control erosion; c) to protect and preserve ecosystems ranging
from mangroves to high-altitude vegetation, as well as to protect threatened species, nesting
areas for marine and migratory birds, archeological sites, Atlantic Forest remnants and the
quality of hydrological resources.
A participatory process was undertaken in 1996 to develop a management plan for the
Cananéia-Iguape-Peruíbe APA. Because the local context and people are fundamental to
stewardship, during the stakeholder identification phase secondary data was used to provide
basic information about the local communities: who is who, individuals’ roles in the community,
and what people were thinking about key issues. Following this phase, stakeholders
were contacted and asked to become involved in the process. Based on two sub-regional
meetings of stakeholders, it was possible to select those who should represent the different
sectors in a five-day workshop.
Meanwhile, other activities were underway, aimed at defining zones for Management Units
within the Landscape Units, which overlaid the pre-existing coastal zoning in the region.
Zoning of these Management Units also had to take into account the administrative and
management factors, as well as the existing legal restrictions 5 and range of restricted protected
areas in the region. The analysis determined that what the region really needed, instead of more
restrictive rules, was the adequate use of its resources, based on efficient management and
careful monitoring. The important goal, it was decided, was to promote sustainable development.
5
An Atlantic Forest Decree prohibits the cutting of this kind of vegetation.
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