ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the interim findings of an ethnographic study entitled “Itacaré: a new meaning for paradise found through eco-tourism”. The general theme is the process of social change taking place in the small town of Itacaré and surrounding area in the state of Bahia, Brazil. The interaction between local associations and the Environmental Protection Area (APA) Itacaré — Serra Grande Management Council, when created as public forums (Cefai, 2002) makes up the central theme of this analysis, since it helps us to understand the composition and redefinition of the social identity of the inhabitants and groups that populate this town, both spatially and culturally, through their questions and tendencies.
