Instrumentos de gestão territorial para a conservação da biodiversidade: o planejamento sistemático da conservação e a expansão e consolidação da rede de áreas protegidas em Minas Gerais

Abstract

The selection of priority areas for conservation is an important instrument for the accomplishment of the international commitments assumed by Brazil within the scope of the Convention on Biological Diversity – CBD. The Priority Areas for the Conservation, Sustainable Use and Benefit Sharing of Brazilian Biological Diversity are an integral part of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, being fundamental in the decision-making process for the allocation of new protected areas. In Minas Gerais state, the first government initiative was carried out in 1998 and published by the Biodiversitas Foundation. Its second edition called Biodiversity in Minas Gerais: an atlas for its conservation (DRUMMOND et al, 2005) was responsible for establishing guidelines and criteria for new protected areas for more than fifteen (15) years. The most recent prioritization exercise is Priority Areas Project: Strategies for the Biodiversity and Ecosystems Conservation in Minas Gerais (2020). Based on Systematic Conservation Planning – SCP (MARGULES & PRESSEY, 2000), the work identified strategic areas for the conservation and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The study updates the previous publication, as well as broadening its scope. Therefore, the research aim was to evaluate how Priority Areas contribute to the expansion and consolidation of protected areas network in Minas Gerais state. The results showed that planning contributes to the identification of new locations for the system of protected areas, with objective criteria and products for practical application in the environmental agency. On the other hand, although the SCP claims to be more assertive to allocation financial resources, compared to other instruments that measure management effectiveness, its criteria are not enough to identify the consolidation status of the protected areas and other issues that manifest themselves at the local scale.