Data from: The financial needs vs. the realities of in situ conservation: an analysis of federal funding for protected areas in Brazil’s Caatinga

In situ conservation is an effective strategy to protect biodiversity, and Brazil has one of the largest protected area (PA) systems in the world. However, the distribution of Brazilian PAs is uneven and the Caatinga drylands are poorly protected. As financial resources are essential for effectively managing PAs, we analyzed the Brazilian Government's budget allocated to 20 federal PAs in the Caatinga between 2008 and 2014, which ranged from 231,575 USD in 2008 to 13.5 Mi USD in 2011. Neither expenses, nor the availability of funds, were homogeneous among PAs or throughout the years. Land acquisition in a single PA consumed ~75% of the budget, and the two smallest PAs received proportionally the most money. Excluding land acquisition, the 20 PAs received 0.50 USD/ha/year. Funds were allocated not to biodiversity conservation per se but mainly to securing offices, cars, and equipment. From 2012 onwards, the PA budget was reduced. Even including salaries, the budget allocated for these PAs is ~13 times lower than what the Ministry of the Environment declared necessary for the basic operation of protected areas in Brazil, 1.5 times lower than values spent worldwide, up to 5 times lower than spent in Latin American and African parks, and up to 72 times lower than spent in the European Union, exposing one cause of the precarious situation of the Caatinga PAs.就地保护（in situ conservation）是保护生物多样性的有效策略，巴西拥有全球规模最大的保护地（Protected Area, PA）体系之一。然而巴西保护地的分布极不均衡，卡廷加干旱区（Caatinga drylands）的保护状况尤为薄弱。由于财政资源是有效管理保护地的核心保障，本研究分析了2008至2014年间巴西政府划拨给卡廷加地区20处联邦保护地的预算资金，其额度区间为2008年的231,575美元至2011年的13.5百万美元（13.5 Mi USD）。各保护地间以及不同年度的资金支出与供给水平均存在显著差异，未呈现同质化特征。单处保护地的土地购置成本曾占据总预算的约75%，而面积最小的两处保护地获得的单位面积资金比例最高。若剔除土地购置成本，这20处保护地的年均单位面积投入仅为0.50美元/公顷/年（USD/ha/year）。资金的分配并未直接指向生物多样性保护本身，而是主要用于办公场地、车辆及设备的保障与购置。2012年起，相关保护地的预算出现缩减。即便将人员薪酬纳入计算，此类保护地获得的预算仍较巴西环境部（Ministry of the Environment）认定的巴西保护地基本运营所需资金低约13倍，较全球平均保护投入水平低1.5倍，较拉美与非洲国家公园的投入低至多5倍，较欧盟（European Union）国家公园的投入低至多72倍，这一差距揭示了卡廷加地区保护地运营困境的成因之一。