Análise da efetividade do plano de manejo da Área de Proteção Ambiental das Dunas de Paracuru (Ceará)

Abstract

Conservation Units (CUs) play an essential role in environmental protection by articulating planning, implementation, and monitoring in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressure on ecosystems. In Brazil, the National System of Conservation Units (SNUC) organizes these areas, among which the Environmental Protection Areas (APAs) stand out, reconciling conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. In this context, this article analyzes the Paracuru Dunes APA, located in the State of Ceará and created in 1999. The unit encompasses ecosystems of mobile and fixed dunes, which play fundamental roles in hydrological and climatic balance and in maintaining local biodiversity, although it is subject to intense pressures such as irregular urban expansion, disordered tourism, heavy vehicle traffic, and real estate speculation. Its Management Plan, updated in 2022, seeks to guide territorial planning and reduce these impacts; however, studies point to limitations in its implementation and the effectiveness of its management. Given this context, this article analyzes the effectiveness of the APA Management Plan, based on the Methodological Roadmap of the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBIO), through document analysis, an interview with the unit's manager, and a literature review. The evaluation is structured around fundamental, dynamic, and normative parameters, allowing for the identification of advances, weaknesses, and challenges for the consolidation of the management of the Paracuru Dunes APA. Among the main results, the following stand out: difficulties in implementing and coordinating the plan, lack of adequate infrastructure, insufficient oversight, the need to expand the polygon, the need to strengthen popular participation, the presence of conflicts between environmental and sustainable management and tourism and real estate developments, as well as the demand for greater investment in environmental education for the management of the APA. Through the research carried out, it was possible to perceive that the plan presents partial advances in aspects such as planning, environmental education, and institutional partnerships, but still faces structural and operational limitations. The advance of dunes into residential areas, the silting up of water bodies, and the intensification of unregulated tourism demonstrate that the environmental fragility of the APA (Environmental Protection Area) demands more urgent and integrated management responses.