Forest Management in the State of Amapá, Brazil

ABSTRACT This study aims to show the organizational capacity and structure of the forest management system of the State of Amapá, Brazil. The research was based on the principles applied in Public Administration functions. We found that forest management in Amapá is performed by four State agencies consisting of two management systems that act on the production side, with one being in direct administration as the formulator of forestry policy, and one being an autonomous agency linked to the previous one as executor of forestry policy, and the other two systems being more directly linked to protection, with one being a formulator of environmental policy and the other its executor. There was a statistically significant correlation between the perceptions of public officers and the users of institutions regarding the organizational system. Some conflicts were observed between the four institutions in terms of forest administration responsibilities. We concluded that the maintenance of the existing forest coverage is not directly due to institutional capacities.