Strategy and strategic actions in the Atlantic Forest Municipal Plans: Documental study in six municipalities

Abstract

The Atlantic Forest is one of the most threatened Brazilian biomes. This is a problem as the biome's remnants can provide several environmental services to society. Brazilian legislation allows municipalities to elaborate Municipal Plans for Conservation and Recovery of the Atlantic Forest (PMMA), aiming to contribute in this context. This paper aims at studying the strategies and actions proposed in the Municipal Plans for Conservation and Recovery of the Atlantic Forest (PMMA) in six Brazilian municipalities. The study is documentary research and is based on PMMA content analysis in the six municipalities. The analysis identified the categories of actions and strategies from the action plans contained in the documents. Planning characteristics such as definition of managers, deadlines, targets and resources have also been analyzed. The main categories of strategies were identified as: conservation units; urban afforestation; performance in areas of permanent preservation; legislation; fund-raising; environmental education; political and institutional action; action on pressure vectors; obtaining new information; and green economy. The proposed actions are generally consistent with technical and management recommendations, however in some cases and some topics, they seem more a brainstorming of ideas, without clear prioritization, nor definition of responsibilities, deadlines and quantitative targets. There is a need to bring a balance between the specificity of these elements to give direction and security in the deployment, and flexibility that allows adapting the plan, which tends to be seen as procedural rather than static, throughout time. Challenges include understanding the reasons for deficiencies in deployment planning, fundraising, and the involvement of productive sectors in the design and financing of action s.