Dr. Carolina Dutra de Araujo
Section Collection Information
Dear Colleagues,
Protected areas are an important part of the global effort to ensure nature conservation of the most important biomes of the planet. This initiative has been successful due to specific sets of rules developed to maintain, as much as possible, the original characteristics of their ecosystems.
Nevertheless, since their establishment, many issues have arisen concerning policymaking, planning, management and monitoring by the administration agencies, whether public or private. Local communities have also been affected by their land´s change of status.
Many conflicts between management and local communities have their origin on the imposed rules of the protected areas, changing their lifestyle and livelihood. Tourism has also presented challenges for management concerning visitor´s behavior, payments for ecosystem services, public-private partnerships and the provision of infrastructure that ensures both environmental conservation and a positive recreational experience.
In many cases, external powerful stakeholders exert pressure to financially exploit the area, generating conflicts with policy makers and local communities.
In light of aforementioned matters, we are looking for contributions in the field of environmental, political and social sciences that can shed a light on spotting current issues regarding the role of protected areas in nature conservation, internal and external conflicts among management, local communities and external stakeholders, public-private partnerships, visitor´s management, payments for ecosystem services, etc.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Carolina Dutra de Araujo
Section Editor