The Brazilian Caatinga protected areas: an extremely unbalanced conservation system

The semiarid Caatinga is the largest Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest and Woodland (SDTFW) in the Neotropics. Yet the vast majority of the Caatinga is unprotected, with severe chronic anthropogenic use, exotic species and global warming among its most immediate threats. Here, we contrast the current C...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental conservation 2021-12, Vol.48 (4), p.287-294
Main Authors: Teixeira, Marília Gomes, Venticinque, Eduardo Martins, Lion, Marília Bruzzi, Pinto, Míriam Plaza
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthropogenic factors
Biodiversity
Climate change
Conservation
Dry forests
Economic development
Ecosystems
Federal jurisdiction
GDP
Global warming
Gross Domestic Product
Introduced species
Jurisdiction
Natural resources
Non-Thematic Section
Protected areas
Research Paper
Spatial data
Trends
Tropical forests
Woodlands
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The semiarid Caatinga is the largest Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest and Woodland (SDTFW) in the Neotropics. Yet the vast majority of the Caatinga is unprotected, with severe chronic anthropogenic use, exotic species and global warming among its most immediate threats. Here, we contrast the current Caatinga protected areas (PAs) scenery with that of other SDTFWs in the Neotropics. We also analyse the growth process of the PAs in the Caatinga over time across Brazilian PA categories and jurisdictions. The percentage of Caatinga that is protected is average among the SDTFWs. Caatinga has more state than federal PAs; however, the size of the PAs is greater under a federal jurisdiction. Nonetheless, in both jurisdictions, Environmental Protected Areas, one of the least restrictive categories, are more representative in terms of total area, corresponding to nearly 80% of the Caatinga PA system. Our results are relevant for international conservation goals because they depict the current PA scenery and clarify the challenges for achieving the actual preservation of the unique Caatinga biome.
ISSN:0376-8929
1469-4387
DOI:10.1017/S0376892921000308