Participatory environmental management beyond the boundaries of Protected Areas: a democratic advancement or nature privatization? A systematic review

Abstract

In recent decades, environmental management has undergone changes that have dispersed decision-making power, from a model centralized in public authorities to one with power also distributed to other stakeholders, such as community members, companies, and non-governmental organizations. Participatory environmental management favors conflict reduction, increased legitimacy and compliance with decisions, and community empowerment, fostering more effective and equitable socio-environmental management. However, conciliation of divergent interests, the need for greater investments in time, logistics, capacity building, and power asymmetries are possible limitations to the outcomes of this model, enabling its use in favor of minority interests, especially outside Protected Areas. Numerous studies have been developed on the subject, but its relevance demands an analytical compilation of these works. This review aims to fill this gap by critically synthesizing participatory environmental management case studies in territories outside the Protected Areas, extracted from 145 systematically selected publications. The analysis of aspects such as study location, management group format, level of participation of civil society and traditional communities, factors influencing participation, financial support, difficulties, strategies, and outcomes indicates that, in many cases, the diversity of stakeholders has turned the decentralization of power into an aggravating factor for the vulnerability of weaker parties. Nevertheless, observed advancements in participation corroborate the feasibility and importance of inclusive management. This review provides a current, integrated, and critical overview, useful for the global understanding of the subject and studies improvement and participatory processes in the planning or execution phase.