In Brazil, Sustainable Development Reserves (Reservas de Desenvolvimento Sustentável RDS) were created as a socio-environmental category that incorporates the objectives of conservation, actions for social inclusion, valuing local knowledge and practices of environmental management (Mattos et al, 2011). However, in practice, such Reserves do not always follow their initial objectives, as it has happening at the SDR-PT.  Since 2010 two wind power projects started to operate inside the SDR-PT: Miassaba II and Alegria II. The state government broadly supports the installation of enterprises. Meanwhile the documents governing the forms of use and occupation of land and management of the reserve, ten years after its creation, are not developed yet. In this context, local inghabitants of the Reserve of Ponta do Tubarao have claimed that the construction of roads for windmill installations has created water scarcity: ponds are now dry. Another impact is the construction of a wall and line towers disrupting the hydrological connection between the rivers (including Tubaro river) and the sea. This has also affected the access for fishermen and the alteration of water sands, affecting fishing activities. Roads have been built removing sand dunes and this prevents the free transit of fish and canoes. Local inhabitants have also argued that noise and vibrations coming from windmills have affected some animals and birds which are not anymore in this area. Moreover, since 2009 the Administrative Council of the Reserve indicated that part of the Miassaba project was being built inside nesting sea turtle areas.

Some sources as EcoFinanças,  indicate that the Miassaba II project was approved by the Manager of the Reserve Board also in 2009, and which, according to entrepreneurs Bioenergy, "all the development work of the wind farm was discussed with the community, three public hearings held in the cities of Guamaré, Macau, and the reserve's headquarters in Diogo Lopes. " However, the statements of fishermen who live in the reserve contradict these claims while they argue that they never received significant compensation for the damage caused by the mills around the reserve. (See Marcelo Firpo Porto in sources section).

Meanwhile, the Technical Director of the Sustainable Development and Environment Institute of the Federal Government (IDEMA), Jamir Fernandes, argued the installation of  windfarms inside SDR-PT is in accordance with the rules governing the conservation unit. “The management plan of RDS allows the exploitation of this type of activity because it is considered clean. At the time they began the discussions for the installation of the park, the Management Board was in favor of the Project” (Tribuna Do Norte, 2012). In contrast, Luis Ribeiro (Managment Council of Environment of Diogo Lopes), the Management Board has imposed 10 conditions to be met when installing the wind mill parks, but only two of them were met. He did not specify which one. “As a compensatory measure, the Miassaba Park II offered us USD $ 275,000 to be used in conservation programs and environmental protection. The ecological disaster caused has no compensatory measure to pay”. (Tribuna Do Norte, 2012). 

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