Students' Perception of Urban and Rural Environmental Protection Areas in Pernambuco, Brazil. (September 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bento-Silva, José Severino; Martins de Andrade, Wbaneide; Ramos, Marcelo Alves; Ferraz, Elba Maria Nogueira; de Medeiros Souto, Wedson; Paulino de Albuquerque, Ulysses; de Lima Araújo, Elcida
• Is Part Of: Tropical conservation science. Volume 8:Number 3(2015)
• Page Start: 813
• Page End: 827
• Publication Date: 2015-09
• Subjects: conservation units -- socioeconomic factors -- perception index -- biodiversity conservation; unidades de conservação -- fatores socioeconômicos -- índice de percepção -- conservação da biodiversidade; Rain forest conservation -- Periodicals; Rain forest ecology -- Periodicals; Rain forest conservation; Rain forest ecology; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 577.34
• DOI: 10.1177/194008291500800316
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1940-0829

Abstract

This research assessed the relationship between students' perceptions and socioeconomic factors in urban and rural communities surrounding Atlantic rainforest protection areas in Pernambuco, Brazil. We tested whether the utilitarian concept of forests has a determining role in the student community's perception of protected areas. The study was conducted in eight schools in communities surrounding three protected areas, through questionnaires for 410 middle and High school students. The majority of students highlighted the utilitarian importance of forests, but approximately 60% of students did not answer the question regarding the importance of protected areas, displaying a disconnection between perceptions of forests and of protected areas. The students' environmental perception index was significantly different between rural and urban zones, but in both zones, on average, protected areas had a positive utilitarian importance, exclusively related to the protection of nature. Negative aspects of the students' perceptions of protected areas were related to social problems such as lack of law enforcement and land expropriation. Schooling and residence setting had a small (6.7%) but significant influence on student perception. Our results indicate that environmental managers in protected areas need to promote meaningful interaction with student communities from rural and urban settings, to increase the efficiency of these areas and to conserve biological diversity.