Evaluation of the private participation in the implementation and management of ecotourism in cavernas do Peruaçu national park, Brazil

In the last two decades, Brazil has advanced in the creation of Natural Protected Areas (NPAs), reaching more than 17% of its territory. However, the budget allocated for the effectiveness of NPAs is still insufficient, creating gaps that hinder these areas from fulfilling their purposes. The Cavernas do Peruacu National Park (PNCP) was created in 1999. Its ecotourism infrastructure was conceived and built from 2011 to 2015 and opened to the public in 2017. The implementation of the PNCP differs from other NPAs under the responsibility of the federal government management in Brazil, since it involves private resources from companies with legal obligations to environmental compensation. In this context, a study on the PNCP was carried out, with primary and secondary data analysed. The research aimed at report the process of the PNCP implementation as well as presenting the current state of management and prospects for this Park. With the results obtained, it was possible to conclude that the experience of a partnership between the public power and the private initiative is a practical possibility for the implementation and management of ecotourism, expanding its socioeconomic sustainability and contributing to the goals of nature conservation.Key words: national parks, ecotourism, natural heritage, archaeological sites.Prispevek zasebnikov pri vzpostavitvi in upravljanju ekoturizma v jamah narodnega parka Cavernas do Seruacu, BrazilijaBrazilija je v zadnjih dveh desetletjih razvijala program zascitenih naravnih obmocij, ki danes zavzemajo 17 % povrsine države. Vendar namenska proracunska sredstva namenjena zascitenim obmocjem, ne zadoscajo za ucinkovito upravljanje in izvajanje zascite. Narodni park Cavernas do Peruacu (NPCP) je bil ustanovljen leta 1995. Infrastruktura, zasnovana na ekoloskem pristopu, je bila zgrajena med leti 2011 in 2015 in leta 2017 odprta za javnost. NPCP je izjema med zascitenimi obmocji v upravljanju brazilske vlade, saj prejema tudi sredstva zasebnih podjetij, ki so zakonsko obvezana dajatev okoljskega nadomestila. V raziskavi porocamo o razvoju, upravljanju in perspektivah parka. Pokažemo, da je javno zasebno partnerstvo mogoce in da lahko bistveno izboljsa možnosti ucinkovitega upravljanja, utrjuje socialno-ekonomsko vzdržnost obmocja in prispeva k boljsemu varovanju narave.Kljucne besede: narodni parki, ekoturizem, naravna dediscina, arheoloska najdisca.