Collective action on natural resources: The participation of rural communities in the management council for the environmental protection area of Guaratuba

This paper aims to discuss the relationship between the rural communities from the Southern bay of Guaratuba, Parana, and the Management Council of the Environmental Protection Area of Guaratuba, an instrument for public environmental management institutionalized by the process of  implementation of this Conservation Unit. The spatial arrangement for use and management of natural resources prescribed by the Management Plan has not contemplated the internal rules of the community concerning the control and use of the resources. The Management Council of this Conservation Unit, taking for granted its democratic, participationist and deliberative basis, would be the next step towards the inclusion of these subjects in the public arena of negotiation. Through documental analysis and direct observation of the participation of these communities in the Management Council, however, it’s possible to say the collective action is linked to historical terrritorialization processes constituted before the creation of this Environmental Protection Area.