Protected Areas of Sustainable Use, Involvement of Social Actors, and Biodiversity Conservation in the Várzea: The Case of the Mamirauá Reserve—Sharing Conservation Benefits in Central Amazonia, Brazil

Abstract

Biodiversity conservation in the Amazonian varzea depends heavily on the protection of large portions of this threatened environment. In the Brazilian Amazon there is a handful of protected areas with significant portions of varzea, but only one large protected area entirely formed by this particular ecosystem, the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve (MSDR), created by the Amazonas State government in the early 1990’s. This reserve has been comanaged by a Brazilian NGO since its creation, in continuing cooperation between public and private efforts for the conservation of the varzea and its biodiversity. Here, we present the trajectory of this protected area, and a special emphasis is given for one of the most relevant elements of Mamiraua, the involvement of different social actors interested and concerned with local protection and conservation. In the case of the Mamiraua Reserve, this involvement was crucial to deal with the many challenges related to the protection of such a large portion of the territory. The combined efforts of government, NGOs, and the local population, among other actors, also made possible a strong positive impact on the maintenance of local livelihoods and the improvement of the quality of life for the local inhabitants. Possibly as a consequence of that improvement, increasing population growth rates may now pose a threat for the near future of the reserve, and require new, enhanced forms of sustainable use for local biodiversity. Besides that, it is important to maintain the widespread distribution of benefits from these conservation practices for all social actors involved.