Corredor de biodiversidade na Fronteira Amapá / Guiana Francesa: fator de integração e sustentabilidade?

Abstract

In recent decades, discussions on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development have gained centrality in scientific agendas and public policies at a global scale, particularly in regions marked by high socio-environmental complexity such as the Amazon. In this context, biodiversity corridors have emerged as strategic instruments for territorial management, aimed at integrating protected areas, maintaining ecological processes, and articulating environmental conservation with socioeconomic development. This doctoral thesis addresses the Biodiversity Corridor of Amapá within the transboundary context between Brazil and French Guiana, considering its implications for territorial integration and sustainability. The empirical focus is the Oiapoque region, characterized by transboundary dynamics, sociocultural diversity, and institutional fragilities. The general objective of this study was to analyze the Amapá Biodiversity Corridor as a territorial management instrument aimed at integration, biodiversity conservation, and sustainability, with the purpose of proposing guidelines for its effective implementation. Specifically, the study sought to: analyze the socio-environmental configuration of the border region; examine the concept and evolution of biodiversity corridors; investigate public policies and institutional arrangements related to their implementation; identify key social actors and their power relations; assess the corridor’s potentials, limitations, and challenges; understand the influence of transboundary dynamics; and propose strategic guidelines to strengthen territorial governance. The research adopted a qualitative, applied, and interdisciplinary approach, structured as an in-depth single case study. Methodological procedures included bibliographic review, documentary analysis, and empirical investigation, based on data triangulation from multiple sources, including public managers, researchers, local leaders, and representatives of the economic sector. This approach enabled an integrated understanding of the ecological, social, institutional, and territorial dimensions shaping the corridor in a transboundary context. The findings indicate that, although the Amapá Biodiversity Corridor represents an innovative proposal in the field of socio-environmental management, its effectiveness remains constrained by institutional weaknesses, lack of policy integration, asymmetries in transboundary governance, and limited participation of local actors. Furthermore, the integration between environmental conservation and regional development is still incipient, permeated by territorial conflicts, economic pressures, and gaps in the implementation of management instruments. On the other hand, the study identified significant potentialities, particularly regarding the extensive network of protected areas, sociocultural diversity, and opportunities for international cooperation.It is concluded that the Amapá Biodiversity Corridor constitutes a strategic instrument for territorial management in border regions, provided that it is supported by effective mechanisms of multilevel governance, institutional coordination, social participation, and policy integration. This thesis contributes to the theoretical and methodological advancement of socioenvironmental management by proposing guidelines for integrated conservation models capable of articulating sustainability, regional development, and transboundary cooperation in Amazonian contexts.