Contribuição à avaliação de sustentabilidade de um sistema das ilhas moçambicanas: estudo de caso da Arquipélago de Bazaruto

Abstract

Conservation areas are one of the forms of land use and benefit recommended by law, which aim to protect plant and animal species representing the country in danger of extinction. Mozambique, with a vast coastline, needs to promote and implement programs aimed at improving the lives of populations in general and particularly those residing in island regions, combined with management initiatives that guarantee the protection and conservation of its resources. forestry and wildlife. The Mozambican islands are fragile insular ecosystems that present similarities and problems common to those of continental areas. They are characterized by insufficient resources and heterogeneity among their users, who have different and sometimes conflicting interests. Although there has been some forestry and wildlife inventory in the past and some conservation programs have been developed with the help of non-governmental organizations linked to this area, there is still a certain deficit with regard to a systematic assessment of the islands' sustainability. So far there is still no global approach that demonstrates the interconnection between natural and physical processes, biological and socio-ecological resources, political and institutional aspects. It was in this context that the need to assess the level of sustainability of the national islands emerged, which necessarily involves verifying and studying the interconnections that consider the dimensions and the most relevant indicator elements involved in the interaction between society and the ecosystem of an island region , as a basis for planning sustainable development, with a view to contributing to policies for the use, protection and conservation of the Mozambican islands system. The Bazuruto Archipelago, given its ecological characteristics, served as a relevant and appropriate case study to assess the level of sustainability of an integrated system with a view to optimizing the relationship between development and its protection. The main methodology for carrying out this work was field research characterized by a strong component of ethnographic or participant observation (Raul, 1986). The well-being assessment method of Prescott-Allen (2001) was used, as it is the one that best fits the study in question. Based on this method, a review was carried out on the ecological, socio-economic and political-institutional processes and activities in this Archipelago, with the aim of identifying those that are most likely to reflect the current state and conservation trends. The database used consisted of diverse and specialized publications on the subject, as well as data produced during the field work carried out by the author at the study site, over a period of three months. The study shows that wealth or well-being as a material component for human survival is a very important dimension in determining the level of sustainability of the Bazuruto Archipelago. It makes links with the other variables, namely demography and health, equity, policy, legal instruments, use of natural resources and water. From the data obtained for the Bazaruto Archipelago National Park, it was found that it had a poor level of sustainability. Despite this, the data also indicate that human intervention in the Bazaruto Archipelago system is not yet a factor of disharmony between society and the ecosystem, within the scope of laws 3/90 and 10/99, which establish the ''legal framework on fisheries management'' and the ''basic principles on the protection, conservation and sustainable use of forest and wildlife resources'' respectively. The use of quantitative or semi-quantitative methods in the sustainability assessment of island regions faces some difficulties due to the fact that they are small and closed systems, where the complexity of the variables involved is very large. It means that it is not possible to accurately assess their borders, that is, to what extent they are really independent of each other, and above all, what are their spatial and temporal dynamics when subjected to external shocks such as migration, political-administrative adjustments, armed conflicts, natural disasters and investments. Therefore, in assessing the sustainability of island regions, a case-by-case study and the establishment of a compass rose for each island are recommended, identifying the most relevant connections detected through rigorous and more comprehensive field work. Special care must be taken to study the human condition, which must always be considered with caution. The use of a barometer to indicate the level of sustainability can also make it much easier to obtain an X-ray of the status of the place under study as this visualizes the database as a whole and this is very useful for the services of control and inspection and for decision makers interested in stimulating local development, combined with environmental conservation of the Mozambican islands system (TRADUÇÃO NOSSA)