Rethinking governance in a Brazilian multiple-use marine protected area

Abstract

This paper comprises a systematic analysis of the governance of the Environmental Protected Area of Anhatomirim, a multiple-use coastal-marine protected area located in southern Brazil. The 2013 management plan brought major changes and improvements in the governance of the protected area, and today the provided incentives are more suited to the local reality, enhancing the stakeholders´ compliance and stewardship. The legal and the participative incentives are widely used, while the economic and the communicative incentives show an untapped potential. The interactions among the participative and the knowledge incentives, via the participatory monitoring programmes, are an innovative approach by Brazilian standards. On the other hand, the lack of inter-institutional and cross-scale connections is still the main weakness with regards to achieving conservation objectives and addressing current impacts, as most of the socioeconomic and ecological dynamics which must be addressed go beyond the protected area boundaries and its governance arrangements.