The land tenure has been a challenge for the management of protected areas in Brazil, mainly those located in urban areas, such as the ‘Pedra Branca’ State Park (PEPB) in the west of Rio de Janeiro city. To ensure an adequate management of UC, this paper presents a land tenure analysis for support the Management Plan of PEPB. Based on the secondary data and application of structured questionnaires (316 interviews, representing 29% of the total estimated housing) on the land tenure in areas inside/around of PEPB boundaries, seeking for some key elements to support the management of PEPB. This survey identified six zones (Z) with some types of occupation in the study area. The results showed that there are diversified occupations, such as residents with high, medium and low income, including ‘favelas’, subsistence agricultures and temporary residents. This work pointed out to a complexity related to the land tenure in protected areas and highlights the required elements: (i) systematic data survey for the complete registration of properties in PEPB; (ii) organization of a multi-interdisciplinary working groups to solve land tenure problems, (iii) implementation of environmental education and communication programs, seeking explanation on the PEPB conservation as a factor of improving the quality of life, (iv) agreements between the residents of the Park and policy makers to minimize the conflicts caused by the land tenure in PEPB.
Protected Areas; Land Tenure; ‘Pedra Branca’ State Park
