ETHNOECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION IN PROTECTED NATURAL AREAS: INCORPORATING LOCAL KNOWLEDGE IN SUPERAGUI NATIONAL PARK MANAGEMENT

(With 1 figure) The majority of protected natural areas in Brazil were created in coastal areas inhabited by humans for centuries. However, legal protection has triggered a series of conflicts involving human settle-ments in these areas. To overcome part of these problems, ethnoecological studies have been con-ducted in order to discover what is known by local indigenous communities with respect to the land, its natural cycles, occurrence and abundance of animal species, and their use. This knowledge, coupled with that acquired in dealing with current situations that negatively affect the quality of life, is use-ful in protected natural-area planning and management. To that end, the present study proposes en-vironmental education based on ethnoscientific methods, designed to facilitate the maintenance of socio-diversity in the Superagui National Park