RESUMO
The Cerrado is the richest savanna and is undergoing one of the planet's most rapid land transformations for pasture and agriculture; around 45% of the biome has been deforested. Agriculture is of strategic importance to Brazil, but it also modifies ecosystems and jeopardizes habitats and biodiversity. Well-managed agricultural lands can have a favorable impact on environmental conservation. In this paper, we reviewed our current knowledge about water ecology and fire management to show that an ecosystem services perspective can bring about a conciliation of agriculture production with conservation by supporting effective land use decision-making and the optimization of public policy. The landscape/watershed scale seems to be the most relevant for decision-making on how to achieve production and conservation results. This scale appears to be an appropriate level for engaging with stakeholders. Fire frequency and timing (season) combination are determinant of individuals' survivorship. The combination determines vegetation recovery, and it is important to maintain high biodiversity, especially for the herbaceous layer, but it is a limitation to woody vegetation recovery. A pragmatic and conciliatory land use agenda must be based on scientific knowledge and support innovative decision-making solutions for policy-makers and stakeholders, particularly farmers and donors.
RESUMO
La participación comunitaria es un aspecto relevante en la toma de decisiones para la implementación de acciones relacionadas con la protección del patrimonio natural. Objetivo: En el presente trabajo el principal objetivo es la construcción participativa de los lineamientos de uso y conservación de humedales en el sector El Ocho y Páramo de Letras. Método: La metodología comprende los siguientes pasos: 1) revisión de información secundaria; 2) una zonificación ambiental participativa de los sistemas productivos mediante la técnica de mapas parlantes, con la ayuda de la herramienta de AutoCAD; y 3) análisis del potencial turístico y florístico con base en los saberes tradicionales, y utilizando entrevistas con la comunidad, potenciales turistas y charlas informales. Resultado principal: La comunidad tiene conocimiento tradicional de los beneficios que ofrecen los recursos del ecosistema, pero no tiene las herramientas para lograr un sistema productivo sostenible; la zona de estudio tiene un gran potencial turístico, debido a las ventajas de paisaje e infraestructura; el uso actual del suelo es inadecuado con respecto a la normatividad ambiental. Conclusión principal: Es necesario formular e implementar estrategias de uso y conservación de humedales altoandinos que sean adecuados a las particularidades del ecosistema bajo estudio, puesto que las estrategias existentes a nivel nacional e internacional son muy generales.
Community participation is a relevant aspect in decisions making concerning the implementation of actions related to protection of natural heritage. In the present work, the main purpose is the participative construction of the guidelines for the use and conservation of wetlands in El Ocho and Páramo de Letras. The methodology includes the following steps: 1) review of secondary information; 2) a participatory environmental zoning of the productive systems using the talking maps technique and the AutoCAD tool; and 3) floral and touristic potential analysis, on the basis of traditional knowledge, by means of interviews to the community, potential tourists and informal talks. The main result of this research indicates that the community has traditional knowledge of the benefits offered by the ecosystem resources, but they do not have the necessary tools to achieve a sustainable productive system. The study area has a great touristic potential, due to its advantages of landscape and infrastructure but the current use of the land is inadequate according to the environmental law. The main conclusion of the work is that it is necessary to formulate and implement strategies for use and conservation of High Andean Wetlands which are adequate for the ecosystem under study, as the current national and international strategies are too general.