A efetividade da legislação ambiental na proteção de áreas de preservação em Campina Grande-PB: floresta do louzeiro e parque do poeta.

Abstract

The Brazilian legal system contains a complete system of laws, imposing on the state and on the collectivity rules of protection, preservation and responsibilities related to the environment. Aiming at maintaining standards that ensure the healthy quality of life, the system establishes as an instrument of national policy the creation of protected areas. However, it is possible to perceive a divergence between what “is” and what “should be”, the lack of administrative structure, as well as material and financial resources; ultimately a public policy that does not favor environmental issues, making the law a dead letter. The environmental issue is not always perceived by society as the number of other primary unmet needs makes it forgotten. Furthermore, the lack of knowledge on the subject makes it impossible to exert pressure on public actors to enforce the obligation imposed upon all and sundry to protect the environment. In this context, this research aims at evaluating the effectiveness of environmental law in the protection of conservation areas in the city of Campina Grande – PB, namely Floresta do Louzeiro and Parque do Poeta (or Louzeiro Forest and the Poet‟s Park). In order to achieve the formulated purpose, it is based on a Pilot Project developed in Brazil by the Institute “The Law for a Green Planet” (referred to in Portuguese as “O Direito por um Planeta Verde”) and sponsored by the World Bank for the construction of Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Indicators for air, water and vegetation. Thus, a survey was carried out in order to investigate federal and state laws regarding environmental conservation areas, and among these zones research parameters were selected. The research was directed towards public actors linked to environmental agencies, considering the assumption that the essential information for the formulated evaluation would be found among such subjects. It is also incorporated in the study the evaluation of environmental perception of social actors on the related areas, providing us with further support for the effectiveness of environmental laws, taking as reference the information duty. Data were collected in the period of 2011-2013, through the application of partially structured questionnaires, as well as bibliographic and field research. The results show non-compliance with laws, due to the lack of political management of the conservation areas previously mentioned. The lack of human, material and financial structure for the implementation and enforcement of environmental laws remained evident in relation to the surveyed state agencies. The results indicate the lack of knowledge about the existence of environmental assets protected by those who should themselves ensure its preservation. In the present scenario, it was observed the absence of appropriate role on the part of the government regarding the information about these environmental assets, withdrawing from people the chance to interact with the natural environment in which they operate, while not meeting the goals of the conservation areas, which are assets of common use. This context presents a pressing need for the development of local environmental education policy that includes its green areas and promotes the construction of a participatory management plan.