Information Technology for Participatory, Dynamic Administration of Brazilian National Parks

Abstract

Information Technology tools have evolved and can be useful in bringing society closer to the administration of Protected Areas through Citizen Science-type initiatives. This study developed and tested two tools for National Parks (NPs)(Beta versions): 1) a cellphone app (Parceir@s Parques Nacionais), and 2) a website (Conserva Parques) that we hope will enable users to interact with NP managers who can gain more direct access to visitors’ perceptions. The app’s goal is to establish user-manager interactions through the registration of occurrences in the NPs, and through the website, thus providing society with a prediction of the degree of nature conservation in NPs by making hypothetical alterations to public use variables. The perceptions of those “beta-testers” were registered in an online form. Both tools achieved approval ratings of over 75%. The conclusion is that the testing of both tools developed in this study can progress to a phase directly with NP users.