Desenvolvimento Agrícola e Área de Proteção Ambiental: o caso da APA de Macaé de Cima/RJ

Abstract

The Environmental Protected Areas are conservation unities of sustainable use, created to protect relevant environmental and cultural aspects. But creating a new Environmental Protected Areas does not guarantee that the goals to the area are achieved, considering the complexity in achieving development and conservation of the nature resources. The case study of “Macaé de Cima” reveals that the simple presence of a conservation unity of the category is not able to transform the socioeconomic activities inside the boundaries of the area in sustainable activities, as planned, in addition, is not able to restrain the agricultural activities not even to bring modifications in the productive system. The results show that the restrictions or incentives directed to the agricultural activities in the legislation are valid to any territory, and are not distinguished by this type of protected area. The same occurs with the credit financing to agriculture, including some focused in actions that clearly contribute to the sustainability of the productive system of the areas, and the fact that the production realized in a protected area with sustainable purposes does not give any competitive advantage to those comparing to the others. In other words, the agriculture executed in the Environmental Protected Areas territory does not present any differential relative to its surroundings or anywhere, being the sole responsibility of the voluntarism of the farmers the modification of the agriculture practices, in order to develop a real sustainable agriculture.