Manejo florestal comunitário em unidades de conservação na Amazônia: uma avaliação de impactos na Resex Verde para Sempre - PA e na RDS Rio Negro - AM

Abstract

The community forest management (CFM) for timber extraction is considered an important instrument to increase income and forestry sustainability among traditional local users who live in protected areas in the Amazon region. However, there is little evidence that this tool has brought social benefits to their users. The present research aims at identifying the social and economic impact of the introduction of two CFM programs: Projeto de Apoio ao Manejo Florestal Sustentável (ProManejo) at Verde para Sempre Extractive RESERVE and Programa Bolsa Florestal (PBF) at Rio Negro Sustainable Development Reserve. An effectiveness evaluation has been performed, considering the following dimensions: (i) objective, expressing the change of income and its composition between the ex-ante and expost periods; (ii) substantive, which measures changes in livelihood standards, such as housing, infrastructure and access to consumer goods; and (iii) subjective, which describes users’ perception regarding economic variables (income and monetary benefits), social factors (availability of social services) and environmental variables (deforestation decrease). The research can also be classified as a quasi-experiment utilizing three types of research strategies: bibliographic, documental and fieldwork. The latter included the application of a structured questionnaire through personal interviews with householders, which has enabled the researcher to know 53% of program users at Verde para Sempre Extractive RESERVE and 63% at Rio Negro Sustainable Development Reserve. The evidence shows that both initiatives brought mainly positive effects, particularly through income increase and deforestation decrease. Regarding livelihood standards and the overall program performance, the study indicates better results at Rio Negro, due to PBF’s participative approach and the continuity of program, which has no end date.