Sustainable: the protagonism of youth and the conservation of the natural-cultural heritage of the Ivaporunduva quilombo in the Vale do Ribeira, São Paulo, Brazil

Author(s)

Mayara Roberta Martins

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas
• Defense date: 2018-12-19

Examining board members

Célia Regina Tomiko Futemma; Cristina Adams; Rosely Alvim Sanches; Simone Aparecida Vieira; Cristina Fachini

• Advisor: Aline Vieira de Carvalho; Célia Regina Tomiko Futemma

Abstract

This doctoral dissertation discusses sustainable tourism from the perspective of community and self-organization with focus on the social participation of young people from a black rural community (quilombo) located in the Vale do Ribeira region, São Paulo, Brazil. This territory is part of a mosaic of protected areas of the ecosystem of the Atlantic Forest Biome, one of the main biodiversity hotspots of the planet and recognized as Natural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. In the state of São Paulo, the region has critical indexes of socioeconomic development. However, the emergence of community-based tourism projects (TBC) has generated employment and income opportunities for rural areas, mainly to minimize the exodus of young people. To understand these dynamics, the design of interdisciplinary research between the applied social sciences, political sciences and environment was chosen from the theoretical-methodological framework of the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD Framework), by considering tourism as a common ("tourism commons"). The analysis included the formation of social and human capital to understand the social participation of young people in tourism and the conservation of natural and cultural heritage. As a methodology, the case study of a qualitative approach was used, based on data collected through intense field work and simple context-situational observation, four semi-structured interviews with key actors (community leaders) and the application of 35 questionnaires to young male and females from 18 to 35 years old (10% of the sample population). For the analysis of the data, a descriptive and multivariate analysis was performed with the SAS software (Statistical Analysis Software), Cluster analysis and the IAD model. The results and discussions indicated the importance of the recognition and legal security of the collective use of the territory, which was legitimized by the history of the older leaders as a key point for the development of TBC in Ivaporunduva. The social organization (social capital) led to the interest of young people in tourism due to empirical learnings and improvement of capacity building (human capital). The female participation in tourism was geared towards mainly craftwork, gastronomy, general services for the accommodation at the lodging, sale of fresh products (e.g., organic banana), technical workshops, ecological trails and coordination of the tourism group. The young men were involved in planning and administrative functions of visitations, organizing and paying the working groups, contacting travel agencies and external organizations (public and private). Finally, this research is expected to contribute as a tool for the planning of tourism but in other contexts, whose challenge is to provide incentives for the permanence of youth in the rural areas. All this will involve the interaction of ecological and cultural learning across generations, in order to ensure constant evaluations of actions in tourism and natural-cultural heritage, as expressions of the memory and future of the next generations (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/13840-0 - Sustainable tourism: the youth protagonism and conservation of natural and cultural heritage
• Grantee: Mayara Roberta Martins
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate