Protected Areas and Local Development: Limits and Possibilities in the Small Towns of the Metropolitan Region of the Paraíba Valley and Northern Coast in the São Paulo Macrometropolis

This chapter discusses the challenges regarding the protection of the environment and local development in small towns of the São Paulo Macrometropolis, especially the Região Metropolitana do Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte—RMVPLN (Metropolitan Region of the Paraíba Valley and Northern Coast). It also brings some notes on the limits and possibilities of valuing natural heritage through the provision of ecosystem services and initiatives of tourism activities in natural heritages. For this, the protected areas located in the small towns of the RMVPLN are taken as an analysis, where conflicts between development and environmental conservation have been seen for some time and it points to outputs that are more consistent with the characteristics of what is expected of a locally based sustainable development.