SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPORTANCE OF THE DAMAGE AREA OF URBAN CONSERVATION UNITS: THE EXAMPLE OF THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE LEGALLY PROTECTED AREAS OF THE CITY OF RIO DE JANEIRO

The Brazilian urban protected areas have been handled, in its majority, considering the interior of their intervention area, without taking into consideration the interfaces with their surrounding area ( Protection Zone). The importance of the "Protection Zone" is enphasized in CONAMA N degrees 13/90 resolution and later in SNUC Law ( Federal Law N degrees 9985/2000), that determines that protected areas, except APAs and RPPNs, should have been defined their "protection zones". However, few handling plans effectively define the zone and consider it in the planning and management process of their natural resources. This is the context where the present study is introduced, with the scope of identification and diagnosis of the surrounding area which can be constituted in "Protected Zone" of the second most important protected area of Rio de Janeiro city: the so called Parque Estadual da Pedra Branca - PEPB. Methodologies of environmental analysis were applied, using geoprocessing tools and technics, such as: use of GPS (in field measurements to determine exact location of human occupation areas; irregular lots, condominiuns and slums); satellite images (SPOT 5, 2004); digital cartographic bases (IPP, 1999); digital database (network of census sectors and IBGE 2000 Census data, including population variables and demographic density). And finally, thematic digital maps are madden to give support to decision making process (complex analysis), through Arc View GIS 3.2 and 9.1 (ESRI). The diagnosis of the zone defined as study area (one kilometer for each side of the limits of the protected area) contributes to the definition of the PEPB protection area.