Environmental perception as an instrument of social participation in the proposition of priority area in the semiarid

Abstract

The environmental perception has been a widely used instrument and relevant in studies that address the relationship between the environment and human actions, by allowing analysis of the perceptions, attitudes and values, key trainers of topophilia which reverberates in conservation actions. In this perspective, this study aimed to analyze the environmental perception of a community of a mountain complex in the Brazilian Semiarid (Sierra João do Vale) as one of the criteria for the proposition of Priority Area for Conservation. Therefore, interviews were conducted with 240 people (100% of households in the mountain community), using as methodology observation and questioning in interviews and forms, which were applied from February to August 2011, with theoretical and methodological basis of Environmental Perception. The answers of the interviewees showed clearly their knowledge and opinions, as well as the agreement with the creation of an exclusive area for conservation of Sierra João do Vale. They also showed that the arrival of tourism generates expectations of improvements in income and quality of life for this community.