Parcs nationaux au Brésil

National Parks represent strategic protected areas for biodiversity conservation, at the global level, given their international recognition and promotion. More than any other type of protected area, they illustrate the challenges of biodiversity management. These challenges are the result of the historical nature/society segregation, characteristic of modern societies, especially in the case of developing countries with great biological diversity. The present paper aims at presenting and discussing the context and challenges of public policies in the case of Brazilian National Parks, considering the country’s commitments to the Biological Diversity Convention. It illustrates the tension between nature conservation and socio-economic dynamics, from a historical perspective and on the basis of the current framework of public policies’ implementation.