This work aims to analyze if the representativeness of the current system of protected areas (conservation units and indigenous lands) is sufficient for the conservation and use of biodiversity, as well as if they have a relevant role in the containment of deforestation. The area of this study includes 19 municipalities in the state of Pará, and is part of the multi-institutional land-use planning project called Ecological Zoning of the BR-163 Highway (ZEE BR-163). The scope of the BR-163 ZEE Project is about 33 million hectares (27.2% of the total area of the state of Pará). In addition to a Military Area, there are nine Conservation Units (2 of Full Protection and 7 of Sustainable Use) and 13 Indigenous Lands occupying 6,7%, 2,6%, 10,2% and 19,6% respectively, totaling 39,1% of the total area. In 2005 the Federal Government created 7 new Conservation Units, in addition to the expansion of the Amazon National Park, increasing by 19.3% and raising the total of protected areas in the Project region to 58.4%. The remaining deforested area of the BR-163 EEZ Project is about 10.4 %. However, this deforestation is quite differentiated among the municipalities included in the Project region, varying from 2,8% to 55,4%. Another important point is that the proportion of deforestation is always lower inside than outside the protected areas in the municipalities analyzed, ranging from 2.1 to 214%. Finally, it was shown that the effect of deforestation in relation to distance from the road is significantly smaller inside protected areas than outside of them, demonstrating the fundamental role that the current system of protected areas in the region of the BR-163 EEZ has in halting the process of disorderly occupation that occurs in the region.
|
