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.

原位保护（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为庞大的保护地（protected area, PA）系统之一。然而，巴西保护地的分布极不均衡，卡廷加旱生区的保护状况尤为薄弱。鉴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年至2014年间巴西联邦政府划拨给卡廷加地区20处联邦保护地的预算，其额度区间为2008年的231575美元至2011年的1350万美元（13.5 Mi USD）。无论是支出规模还是资金可获得性，在各保护地之间以及不同年度间均未呈现均质化特征。单一保护地的土地购置费用占总预算的比例高达约75%，而规模最小的两处保护地所获预算占比相对最高。若剔除土地购置成本，20处保护地的年均预算为0.50美元/公顷。资金的分配并未直接用于生物多样性保护本身，而是主要用于办公场所保障、车辆购置及设备采购。2012年起，保护地预算出现缩减。即便将人员薪酬计入在内，此类保护地所获预算仅约为巴西环境部所宣称的巴西保护地基本运营所需资金的1/13，仅为全球平均支出水平的约67%，至多仅为拉丁美洲与非洲国家公园支出的1/5，甚至仅为欧盟国家公园支出的约1.4%，这一现状暴露出卡廷加地区保护地运营困境的一大成因。