Blog do AXEL GRAEL: Pesquisa: Percepção da população americana sobre os seus parques e sobre o que é natureza

OPINIÃO DE AXEL GRAEL

Inicialmente, é importante lembrar que os parques nos EUA, além da sua função ecológica e de geração de serviços ecossistêmicos, são um importante ativo econômico no país, movimentando cerca de 3% do PIB nacional. Esta importância vem do turismo, da construção civil relacionada à infraestrutura dos parques (estradas, prédios para receber visitantes, administração, etc), da indústria de equipamentos e materiais (utilizados nas áreas de lazer, na construção de trilhas, na sinalização etc), atividades náuticas, montanhismo e outros esportes, do setor gráfico e editorial que publica aqueles belos livros sobre os parques, o Zé Colmeia, Bambi e Wally Gator na TV, etc. Portanto, áreas protegidas são também uma indústria, geram emprego e promovem o desenvolvimento.

Como qualquer setor com relevância econômica, parques e recreação nos EUA possui organização, lobby próprio e pesquisa o seu mercado e a satisfação dos seus clientes.

Como mostra a matéria abaixo, a National Recreation and Parks Association - NRPA, uma das maiores e mais influentes organizações do setor de parques e recreação nos EUA, fez uma pesquisa que indicou resultados interessantes sobre a importância que os americanos dão às suas áreas protegidas.

Alguns dados da pesquisa chamam a atenção:

7 em cada 10 americanos visitam parques locais ocasionalmente
3/4 dos entrevistados são favoráveis a um aumento das verbas públicas para a gestão dos parques.

Apesar do forte apoio à prioridade aos parques, constatou-se também que a conexão das pessoas com a natureza tem diminuído. O estilo de vida, os compromissos profissionais, as redes sociais e outras pressões do cotidiano têm ocupado o tempo que as pessoas disponibilizavam para atividades ao ar livre.

Parques locais: mais próximos do cotidiano, mais longe da natureza

Segundo o autor da pesquisa, há uma diferença significativa entre a percepção de natureza entre crianças e adultos. As crianças reconhecem o que é natureza "naquilo que podem ver pela janela de casa". Uma área de lazer, uma praça, um córrego, etc. Já o adulto reconhece como natureza o que é menos cultivado, mais longe, menos comercial e mais diferente do cotidiano.

Apesar dos parques locais serem muito presentes nas cidades americanas, serem muito mais acessíveis à população e oferecerem boa logística e infraestrutura, apenas 52% dos entrevistados afirmaram percebe-los como "natureza". Menos do que praias (63%), jardins (72%). Parques estaduais (77%) e nacionais (82%) foram melhor associados à natureza do que os municipais.

A percepção é compreensível. Parques Nacionais e Estaduais são maiores, preservam características naturais mais próximas das originais, concentram menos gente e são menos "urbanos".

No entanto, tive a oportunidade de presenciar engarrafamentos de visitantes no Parque do Yellowstone e das Montanhas Rochosas. Apesar da exuberância da paisagem e da fauna e flora, levou-nos a questionar a qualidade da experiência do visitante. O fato foi bem frustrante para quem esperava encontrar a natureza. Mas, tanto um parque como o outro são relativamente longe dos grandes centros urbanos e o grande afluxo de visitantes reforça o valor, a importância e o interesse que a população tem por esses espaços.

Áreas protegidas são sempre indispensáveis, principalmente num mundo cada vez mais urbano. Mesmo que sejam menos "naturais", parques urbanos são indispensáveis para garantir a qualidade de vida, o clima urbano, controlar a poluição, estabilizar aquíferos, proporcionar turismo, lazer e recreação etc.

Um outro alerta importante da pesquisa diz respeito ao futuro dos parques, o que pode ser depreendido do comportamento dos jovens e crianças. Uma grande maioria dos pais reportaram que seus filhos gastam entre 2 e 4 vezes mais tempo em atividades internas do que ao ar livre.

Parques lá e cá

Conclui-se que mesmo nos EUA, onde parques são muito valorizados, verifica-se a preocupação dos planejadores de parques e formuladores de políticas públicas na manutenção do interesse das próximas gerações na proteção da natureza e das áreas protegidas.

Aqui no Brasil, a importância dos parques ainda não conta com o mesmo reconhecimento. Apesar de ser crescente, o número de visitantes ainda é muito baixo, sendo mais expressivo principalmente naquelas unidades mais próximas dos grandes centros urbanos ou em lugares com melhor infraestrutura turística.

O que mais preocupa aqui é a atual geração, em particular os seus representantes nas instâncias de tomada de decisão. Como estamos vendo no Congresso Nacional, há uma forte mobilização de setores retrógrados do parlamento, liderado pela bancada ruralista, investindo na redução de áreas protegidas da Amazônia e do Mata Atlântica, como aconteceu recentemente no Parque Nacional e da Floresta Nacional do Jamanxim, na área de influência da rodovia BR-163 (Cuiabá-Santarém), e no Parque Nacional de São Joaquim, em Santa Catarina.

Axel Grael

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By Kevin Roth

Posted on May 25, 2017

Only 52% Of Adults View Local Parks as Nature

Over the past year-and-a-half, NRPA has published two separate studies that demonstrate the many ways people throughout the United States engage with their local public parks and recreation facilities. Per the Americans’ Broad-Based Support for Local Recreation and Park Services study, seven in 10 Americans visit their local parks occasionally. A key motivator for visiting local parks is to be closer to nature, as indicated by nearly half of the respondents to the 2016 Americans’ Engagement with Parks study. Three-quarters of respondents to that same study support increased funding for their local park and recreation agencies.

But even with the public’s ardent support for public parks, people are increasingly losing their connection to nature. Busy lifestyles, work pressures, living in more urban settings, and the prevalence of technology all have taken us away from the beauty and rejuvenating benefits of the outdoors. Time previously spent outdoors has been exchanged for looking at the glowing screen on our mobile device or sitting behind the wheel of a car.

As a result, fewer people are gaining the physical and mental health benefits of the outdoors. Even worse, children who venture less outdoors may never gain the personal appreciation for nature that their parents and grandparents had acquired. Ultimately, this disconnection could weaken support for park and recreation funding at the very time that local, state and federal budget dollars become scarcer.

A recently released comprehensive study takes a closer look at how Americans connect with nature. The Nature of Americans report, conducted by Dr. Stephen Kellert, David J. Case and a team of researchers at DJ Case & Associates combines data from 15 focus groups, a survey of more than 770 children and their parents, and a survey of 5,500 adults to better understand their sentiment of nature, outdoor activities, perceived benefits, and the barriers and facilities to greater outdoor activity.

The result is a thorough analysis of our shifting attitudes of nature. On one level, this study follows the key findings of NRPA’s studies in that Americans value and support the nature and public open space. At the same time, this study also demonstrates that adult and children do not spend as much of the day interacting with nature as we would like.

The 364-page report contains a wealth of findings, including:

Nearly three-quarters of adults are satisfied with the parks and open space located near where they live. Further, a large majority of respondents support an increase in programs offered that help people enjoy the outdoors and nature.
Most adults spent five hours or less per week outside in nature, but nevertheless, these people are largely content with the number of hours they can spend outdoors. The biggest impediments from greater interaction with nature are a lack of time, financial constraints, and a lack of family and friends who share a similar interest the outdoors.
An overwhelming majority of children enjoy playing outdoors, but parents report that their children spend two to four as much time on indoor activities (e.g., computers, television) than they are on outdoor activities. Adults report being concerned about the relative lack of connection children have with the outdoors.
An impediment that keeps children from spending more time outdoors are parents’ concerns for their children’s safety, whether it involves concerns about “dangerous” people lurking around, heavy car traffic in the area, or health concerns (e.g., getting hurt, allergies, poison ivy). Parents also note an inability to find adults who can accompany their children outdoors and the parents’ lack of time. Beyond that, barriers keeping children from greater interaction with the outdoors includes friends/family who want to be outdoors, a personal interest in nature, and having time.

One research finding that is critical for local park and recreation professionals involves how children and adults each define “nature.” Children see what they see out the window of their home as being nature. This means children see nature as what is in their backyard, the local creek, an outdoor sports league or many other things that are outdoors.

But for adults, the definition of nature is more complicated. The report’s authors note that adults have “set a high and even impossible standard for what they perceive to be ‘authentic’ and ‘pure’ nature.” They are less likely to see a place near where they live as being “nature,” and they often identify solitude as a necessary condition to being connected to nature. When presented with a list of places and activities, 82 percent of adults agreed that national parks were “nature,” while 77 percent said they considered state parks to be “nature.” But a significantly lower percentage of adults — 52 percent — say local parks represent nature to them.

The authors describe adults’ view of nature as being “less cultivated, more distant, less commercially oriented, and less common in daily life.” As a result, adults, in their minds, are not interacting with nature frequently, at least based on the high standard for what they perceive constitutes as nature. And if they are not interacting with nature on a regular basis, they may be less likely to instill the value of nature to their children.

The implication that adults are less likely to view something that is nearby and convenient, including local parks, trails, and other outdoor facilities, as nature is problematic. While our national and state parks are beautiful and valuable, it is local parks where people — young, middle-aged, or older — are most likely to visit on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. They represent the greatest opportunity to bring people back to nature. Reconnecting people back to nature may involve reintroducing your community to what you have to offer.

What are your thoughts on adults being less likely to see local parks as being a part of nature in comparison to national and state parks? What are there opportunities in terms of new facilities and improved marketing that would narrow this gap? Answers to these questions will inform you and peers on how local parks and recreation can help people reconnect with nature.

Kevin Roth is NRPA's Vice President of Research.

Fonte: NRPA

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Are Parks Worth the Investment?

The study also finds that 4 in 5 Americans believe their local parks are well worth the average amount of $70 per person paid in local taxes every year with over 30% believing they are worth even more.

Dig deeper here with interactive graphics to see how all Americans--crossing nearly all age, income, household format and political strata--support their local parks.

Why This Matters: Local Parks Transform Our Neighborhoods, Towns and Cities into Vibrant Communities

Despite the tight fiscal environment, Americans agree that local, state and national leaders need to dedicate financial resources to support, sustain and expand local park and recreation agencies. As indicated by their strong support, Americans do not view their local park and recreation system as a luxury, but instead as a vital part of what makes their neighborhood a vibrant, dynamic community.

About Americans’ Broad-Based Support for Local Recreation and Park Services

This report is a follow up to the landmark 1992 study The Benefits of Local Recreation and Park Services: A Nationwide Study of the Perceptions of the American Public.

NRPA commissioned Andrew Mowen, Alan Graefe, Austin Barrett and Geoffrey Godbey to follow up on the 1992 study. Using a survey questionnaire that closely followed the questions, wording and order of the 1992 survey, the 2015 study generated 1,144 responses from across the United States. This report is a summary of key highlights from the full study report titled, Americans’ Use and Perceptions of Local Recreation and Park Services: A Nationwide Reassessment.

Fonte: NRPA

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