Evaluation of Coastal Ecological-Economic Zoning (ZEEC) in Brazil: Methodological Proposal

Abstract

Coastal ecological and economic zoning (ZEEC) has been elaborated and implemented since 1988 in various scales and in fractions of the national territory with the objective of carrying out integrated environmental and territorial management actions. The diverse historical, political, economic and environmental contexts in which they were created denote their different effectiveness degrees. With the intention of carrying out an unprecedented quantitative and qualitative evaluation on this instrument, the Ministry of the Environment, in partnership with the Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG), Vale do Itajaí University (UNIVALI) and University de São Paulo (USP), developed a methodological framework that sought to combine the technical base of available information with the perception of social actors preponderant in the process. This method, developed given the lack of specific methodological references for this type of analysis, is presented here from the perspective of the results obtained with the evaluation of coastal EEZs in the country. The following steps were performed: 1 - Pre-planning; 2 – Documental analysis, with the construction of a systematized database; 3 - Elaboration of a system with 35 specific Indicators; 4 - Elaboration and application of semi-structured interviews in 16 coastal states of Brazil; 5 - Application of the Lickert Scale to the indicators; 6 - Individual analysis of the indicators by means of specific evaluation sheets; 7 - Validation workshop conducted with the presence of coastal states representatives; and 8 - Integrated analysis of indicators. The results indicate, if not to a favourable scenario, to a situation of consolidation and maturity of the management instrument, although not in a homogeneous way, along the Brazilian coast. Such diagnosed scenario does not necessarily indicate a better socio-environmental condition in a given territory, certainly the desired effect in this context. The methodological strategy applied, although it demanded a much longer time than originally planned, was satisfactory with regard to the collection and analysis of the EEZ. As an observation for future applications of the method, it is suggested the revision of certain indicators, especially with respect to the semi-structured interviews, which sometimes did not reflect the need to feed the indicator, as well as the transposition of the urgency of achieving the same.