Social Participation in the Brazilian National Biodiversity Monitoring Program Leads to Multiple Socioenvironmental Outcomes

Abstract

The Brazilian Biodiversity Monitoring Program (Monitora Program) is a long-term large-scale program aimed at monitoring the state of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services in the protected areas (PAs) managed by Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio). Encouraging qualified social participation is one of Monitora Program’s guiding principles. In this case study, we describe how citizen participation occurs in various stages of the Monitora Program, including planning, data collection, interpretation, and discussion of results. Aspects that are crucial for a legitimate and continuous involvement and participation are described. We also illustrate some of the results from the Program and discuss how the program can contribute to Brazil’s achievement of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2022, the program was implemented in 113 of the 334 protected areas managed by ICMBio, most of them in the Amazon. The program results are aligned to 12 of the 17 SDGs, influencing changes that move society closer to these goals at the local scale. Data from the Monitora Program can be used to support Brazilian SDG reporting, but this requires further developments. Social participation in Monitora Program has strengthened links between institutions and people of different profiles, enhancing participation in protected area (PA) management and generating multiple local impacts, while producing quality biodiversity information to inform decision-making in conservation.