Percepção de serviços ecossistêmicos promovidos pelo Parque Nacional de Ubajara (Ceará, Brasil): reconhecimento e valorização da biodiversidade do semiárido

Abstract

Ecosystems present levels of organization and processes that allow for the sustainability of life on Earth, providing essential services for human populations. This productive, regulatory and cultural character provided by the interaction of biotic and abiotic factors is called ecosystem services. In this way, direct and indirect contributions from ecosystems are benefits that human populations obtain from nature, such as food, natural fibers, water, soil fertility, temperature control, scientific, educational and cultural values, among others. Conservation Units (UC's) have contributed to the maintenance of ecosystem services by protecting the balance of fauna, flora, water resources, and biophysical and social aspects. The Ubajara National Park, a remnant territory of the Atlantic Forest, in the State of Ceará, is an example of an Integral Protection CU, which presents ample biodiversity and relevance in the provision of ecosystem services. In view of this, the scope of this study is to identify, characterize, disseminate and value the ecosystem services of the PNU. In addition to understanding the perception of users of the Park and the surrounding community, testing the following hypothesis: “the supporting, regulatory and cultural ecosystem services are perceived by local social actors and/or users of the Park”. The identification and characterization of ecosystem services was based on a common international classification system – CICES (Common International Classification Ecosystem Service). This method consists of standardizing and categorizing services, in order to systematize the process of naming and describing ecosystem services. To assess the perception of goods and services provided by PNU ecosystems, interviews using semi-structured questionnaires were carried out with 81 people in November 2019. The public participating in this study consisted of the following groups: tourists/visitors, trail conductors, managers, teachers and residents (permanent or seasonal) of the Ibiapaba region. Among the results, it was observed that most users do not broadly recognize all the services of the three SE categories, but extensively recognize the cultural ecosystem services promoted by the Conservation Unit.