PARTICIPATION AND SOCIAL DISTANCE: CHALLENGES OF SOCIAL PARTICIPATION IN CONSERVATION UNITS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
social participation, conservation unit, management council, biodiversity conservation
Public policy councils are institutionalized spaces for social participation in public administration. In the management of protected areas, the objective of the councils is to debate management decisions with representatives from civil society and government agencies that are active in these units, constituting an arena for the mediation of interests and the exercise of democracy. Although their operation is a legal requirement, the practice demonstrates several problems in achieving these objectives. In 2020, with the emergence of the covid-19 pandemic, the need for social distancing added new challenges. At the federal level, these challenges have encountered a highly complex political scenario for environmental and participation policies. This research seeks to understand how the management councils of federal protected areas have faced these difficulties, taking as an example the Advisory Council of the Coral Coast Environmental Protection Area.