The Cerrado and public policies in environment and health for the protection of sociobiodiversity

Abstract

This article describes and contextualizes federal public policies related to the conservation and sustainable use of socio-biodiversity in the Cerrado, with emphasis on those associated with human health and sociobiodiversity. A systematic review of official documents from the federal government available on public websites was conducted. The mapping identified only a small number of public policies specifically focused on the sociobiodiversity of this biome. Given the involvement of multiple variables—such as the biophysical characteristics of diverse ecosystems and the historical difficulties faced by traditional peoples and communities in securing land titles and applying their knowledge of sustainable management systems—the conditions for developing non-conventional policies are more complex, requiring cross-sector coordination and intersectoral action among public institutions. Based on these assumptions, the guiding hypothesis of the research is that the trajectory of environmental and health policies has required distinct institutional strengthening processes, weakening the originally proposed integrative intention. On the other hand, the state apparatus fails to reach key social groups essential to sociobiodiversity, resulting in institutional inertia in the implementation of existing public policies for the Cerrado and near paralysis in the creation of new ones