Extrativismo da castanha-do-brasil (bertholletia excelsa hubl.) na Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Piagaçu-Purus

Abstract

The basic objectives of sustainable use Conservation Units is to promote biodiversity conservation, assuring the conditions and the means necessary for the social reproduction and the enhancement of the life quality of traditional populations. Natural resource use by these populations is often associated with the knowledge and management techniques adopted in their exploitation. However, in order that management be done effectively, specific research on the techniques is necessary to identify gaps, avoiding that the sustainability of the use of those resources be compromised. Many extractive products are not only resources that supply subsistence needs, they are also part of the political, institutional, and cultural life of the families who are involved in their harvest and consumption. Among the nontimber forest products that are managed by Amazonian populations, the Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa) is considered an important resource, with high potential for sustainable use. The study was conducted in the communities Divino Espírito Santo, Nossa Senhora de Nazaré and São João do Uauaçu, located in the Piagaçu-Purus Sustainable Development Reserve (RDS-Piagaçu-Purus). The methodological procedure used combined qualitative and quantitative aspects in the execution of the following phases: socioeconomic description of the families, survey of the management practices adopted in Brazil nut extractivism, description of the productive processes, and characterization of the exploited Brazil nut tree groves (condominiums and roads) by the communities in primary and secondary forest areas. 30% of the families in each studied commuty were interviewed. The health, education, and infrastructure sectors were observed to receive little or no assistance. Brazil nut extractivism encompasses three main steps: nut harvest, storage, and commercialization. Brazil nut extractivism is identified as an important source of income in the Reserve communities, having obtained a mean production of 1,8 tons of coated nut per community in three years of production. The activity is performed using family manpower, and is associated with other production activities, like agriculture and small livestock raising. The techniques adopted by the people in Brazil nut extractivism remain the same as in the beginning of its exploitation, when no technological strategies were adapted for the gathering and storage towards the achievement of better fruit quality. The main uses identified in the studied communities are: food, medicine, energy production, and handicraft. In Brazil nut tree groves, extractivists eliminate lianas, termites, and other undesired species, and enrich secondary forest areas with Brazil nut trees.