Ultrapassando fronteiras na gestão da biodiversidade: o caso dos Parques Nacionais do Iguaçu (Brasil) e Iguazú (Argentina)

Abstract

The creation of modern, integrated and comprehensive instruments of biodiversity management, is a challenge to be faced by interdisciplinary methodology. This survey, conducted at the National Parks Iguaçu (Brazil) and Iguazú (Argentina), was brought by questions meant to be answered through the combination of different theoretical approaches, looking for contribution to the advance of interdisciplinary conservation science studies. Considering the landscape as a socioecological system historically constructed, the proposition of the research is the creation of a bridge between theory and the practice in protected areas management, trying to bring conservation biology to the daily life, within gaps that still exists in this field. Thinking about the local/global dialectal environmental questions and starting from a border vision seen as region and territory, outlines itself the general objective of this work: the realization of the diagnosis of cooperation between the National Parks of Iguaçu/Iguazú and, due to that, to provide aid to management. For that, several visits were made to the parks afore mentioned and to the protected transboundary European areas, testing the diagnosis instruments of potential transboundary protection of IUCN through interviews with the managers of the Brazilian and Argentinean areas and the representative of civil society. Questions were pondered in order to analyze the perceptions about heritage represented by the parks and to assess values that supports the cooperation. It was verified on the European design that, relations with people helps to face any difficulties of the process. In the visited areas, value is given towards the regional and local culture resulting in a sociobiodiverse landscape. In the case of the parks verified, more similarities than differences were noticed, through many elements being shared, sometimes distinct, however, convergent. There's history of cooperation, having a milestone the attribution of UNESCO's Worldwide Heritage Site. The analysis of perceptions from the contributor points the predominance of aesthetic values, yet, amazes humanist and moral values that point to intrinsic of biodiversity and integration, as the cooperation presupposes, in constant feedback. Strong reasons exist for the cooperation, encouraged by the natural characteristics of the region. The difficulties presented by the managers contributes to the perception of distance between an ideal and practice of cooperative actions, seen by the difference of the attribution of importance as value and importance while inserted in the institutional agenda. The representatives' participation of civil society was essential to inclusion the cultural threats as a reason for the transboundary initiative and to empower it. The cooperation between the parks was categorized as a consultation to collaboration between pairs. The sectors of protection, research, handling and exchange of data has bigger demands and potential for cooperation. The social, economical and political environmental differences of the countries shows themselves as obstacles to the introduction of joint actions of environmental preservation. The bioregional management through the transboundary protected areas can be a convergence point of policies that integrate economical, environmental and political interests. To be aware of the opinions of the involved people through the proposed means was essential in this work and showed the potential of transboundary conservation towards a integrated management of biodiversity.