O pagamento por serviços ambientais sob a ótica do produtor rural no Município de Rio Claro/RJ

Abstract

Brazil has been active in implementing public policies aimed at improving and expanding forest-based environmental services. The concept behind the provider-receiver principle has evolved with the so-called Payment for Environmental Services Program – PSA, promoting forest conservation and restoration actions and improving the economic and social conditions of the populations in the rural properties participating in the program. The objective of this study was to assess how the actual populations evaluate the environmental, economic and social efficacy of an ongoing program called “Produtores de Água e Florestas – PAF” (Water and Forest Producers) taking place in the town of Rio Claro, in Rio de Janeiro State. The project is 8 years old and follows the guidelines established by the National Water Resources Policy in the pursuit of environmental benefits such as improving water production and water quality in the Guandu Watershed by way of initiatives aimed at forest conservation and restoration. For this purposes of this study, we utilized social participation techniques such as non-structured interviews and participative research, resulting in the collective agreements generated by the survey. The study evidenced that the project has technical weaknesses such as lack of monitoring for field activities and lack of inspection for fighting illegal hunting and forest fires. The economic weaknesses were the premiums paid to rural producers who make their land available for the execution of the project. This last weakness could be eliminated if the project could use the funds generated by the Green ICM tax. The study also revealed opportunities that could be tapped with the perception of other weaknesses found such as the lack of a local market for the production of seedlings of species that are native to the Atlantic Forest. There is a desire on the part of rural producers to supply the local market with seedlings, thus meeting the demand of the PAF. One noteworthy aspect was the absence in the UGP (Project Management Unit) of the most important actors at the decision making core of the project: the rural producers themselves. The studies reveal a generalized belief that the PSA project has been fulfilling its primary objective, i.e., the conservation and restoration of forests, assisted by its major ally: an increasing environmental awareness on the part of the participating farmers.