Protected areas (Pas) are part of a worldwide strategy for biodiversity conservation. Inside PAS there are water springs, mineral deposits, wood logs, latex, nuts and other natural resources with economic, social and environmental value. Pas are protected spaces due to relevant natural characteristics, being instituted by public authority considering that they are an important part of the environmental heritage.

Between 2012 and 2013, the Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil (TCU) and the nine state Courts of Audit in the Brazilian Amazon ( Acre, Amazonas, Amapa, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Para, Rondonia, Roraima and Tocatins) carried out a coordinated audit to asses all the federal and state protected areas in the Amazon biome. The audit allowed the oversight bodies to work in an integrated way to obtain a systemic assessment of the 247 protected areas in that biome, 107 being federal and 140 state level.

Due to the relevance of the Amazon region, the audit assessed to what degree the normative, institutional and operational conditions are sufficient for the Pas achieve their goals.

To assess the Pas in the Brazilian Amazon, TCU created the Protected Areas Implementation and Management Index (Indimapa), an instrument to evaluate, communicate and monitor PA, through geo-referenced maps. The instrument classifies Pas in three levels: red, yellow and green, using 14 indicators.

Based on this analysis, the audit verified that only 4% of the federal and state Pas in the Brazilian Amazon are considered to have a high degree of implementation and management, the necessary level to the complete fulfillment of its objectives.

Finally, it was observed that the creation and maintenance of PA offer important benefits like the contribution to deforestation control and the reduction of carbon emissions. However, these areas have objectives that go further than conservation. Other activities are also part of their objectives like: visitation, tourism, research, sustainable logging, etc. These activities depend on management efficiency to be developed, which requires actions that go beyond the creation of Pas.

Source: https://portal.tcu.gov.br/biblioteca-digital/auditoria-coordenada-em-unidades-de-conservacao-da-amazonia.htm

1. SAI Brazil