The environmental protection area (APA) is a Brazilian category of protected area (PA) that has the challenge of reconciling at the same territory the conservationof biodiversity and ecosystems with human occupation and the use of natural resources. The management of these areas requires a participatory process with focus on the involvement of actors with different interests, beliefs, and decision-making capabilities so that the protected area s goals are achieved. This work sought to contribute to this process in the Águas Vertentes Environmental Protection Area (APAEAV), in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, through literature reviewand field research to identify and analyze a relevant set of actors: the associations and cooperatives of local communities and groups of people who develop activities in their territory. The survey gathered 35 organizations, described their main characteristics, and presented pathways and limitations in the collaboration among the APAEAV s management and the entities. Family farming, mining projects, and urban growth are themes that have potential to leverage this relationship, which faces some difficulties in establishing itself, such as the lack of human and material resources of the PA. The research also learned about the relationship among APAEAV and the other PAs near it, located in the Espinhaço: Alto Jequitinhonha – Serra do Cabral Protected Areas Mosaic, in addition to the relationship of these areas with local associations.