Condicionantes da participação da sociedade civil nos conselhos municipais do Natal/RN, no processo de regulamentação de uma zona de proteção ambiental

Abstract

The Environmental Protection Zone 9 (ZPA-9) was established in the municipality of Natal, capital of the State of Rio Grande do Norte, aiming at environmental protection, reconciled with the uses and occupations of the region. The zoning of that Environmental Protection Zone took place through participatory and deliberative processes of regulation within the scope of the public policy management councils of Natal and counted on the action of segments of civil society and the government. With the conclusion of the administrative procedure for the regulation of ZPA-9, in 2019, and the forwarding of its bill to the Natal City Council, in April 2022, the public policy management councils that acted in that process fulfilled, in theory, the role for which they were created. In this scenario, the research in question aims to analyze the deliberative process and the influence of social participation via public policy management councils in the regulation of Environmental Protection Zone 9, in the municipality of Natal/RN, between the years 2014 and 2019. Methodologically, it was an empirical study, with deductive, exploratory and qualitative-quantitative approaches. The four chapters of the thesis addressed the urban changes in the Northern Administrative Region of Natal, from the establishment of ZPA-9 to the completion of the processing of its administrative regulation process, in 2019. As the main result of these chapters, it should be noted that the political-administrative guidelines for territorial organization and planning, including in the recent period, when the ZPA-9 regulation was finalized in 2019, were conditioned to the interests of hegemonic agents (political and economic), disregarding the natural and ecosystem aspects of the region. The results showed that the community branch of civil society had little influence on the zoning definitions of Environmental Protection Zone 9, a fact ratified by the institutionalization of participation and the deliberative effectiveness in the public policy management councils that acted in the regulatory process of that area, respectively. It was also found that the Municipal Councils of Natal were classified with a high degree of institutionalization. However, the levels of democratization and representation were considered to be of medium degree, affecting the effectiveness of those institutional spaces of social participation. It was demonstrated the little influence of community representatives of civil society in the definitions and decisions on the regulation, and subsequently, the little deliberative effectiveness of the councils, particularly CONCIDADE. This council was limited to exercising a merely advisory function in the process of regulating the Environmental Protection Zone 9. The other councilors who made up civil society had a more effective participation. The perception of civil society representatives about the ZPA-9 regulation process is the last stage of the research. The semi-structured formal individual interview was the data collection instrument. In addition to the socioeconomic profile and the participatory process, the interview addressed issues related to the institutional design of the Councils, ZPA-9 and its protection, and the participatory profile. The prevalence of the governmental segment and its speeches and manifestations in the deliberations was verified, especially due to the absence of real parity in the composition of the councils, less capacity for vocalization, reduction of the possibilities of inclusion of matters on the agenda and incongruity in the representation of the councilors of the civil society segment, as well as the informational and knowledge imbalance about the institutionalization of the participation of the councils and about the peculiarities of the Environmental Protection Zone 9. In addition to these factors, vacancies in the CONCIDADE seats and logistical difficulties for social participation in the meetings of both collegiate bodies were detected. In view of this, as a result and product of the thesis, there is the request to make Decree No. 8,243/2014 back in force and the legislative amendment to include items in articles 102 of Law No. 8,112/1990 and 473 of the Consolidation of Labor Laws, guaranteeing the performance in participatory institutions to those who work in public and private initiatives, without prejudice to salary/remuneration and employment.