Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T00:06:53.688Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Governance challenges for commercial exploitation of a non-timber forest product by marginalized rural communities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2016

ALAINE A. BALL*
Affiliation:
The Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, Yale University, Luce Hall, 34 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511, USA Department of Forest Sciences, ‘Luiz de Queiroz’ College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Avenida Pádua Dias 11, Piracicaba-SP, 13418-260, Brazil
PEDRO H.S. BRANCALION
Affiliation:
Department of Forest Sciences, ‘Luiz de Queiroz’ College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Avenida Pádua Dias 11, Piracicaba-SP, 13418-260, Brazil
*
*Correspondence: Alaine A. Ball, Rua Diogo Jácome, 1030 Ap 61 Moema, São Paulo-SP Brazil 04512-001 Tel: +1 505 672 8703 e-mail: [email protected]

Summary

While conservation and development projects focusing on non-timber forest products (NTFPs) remain popular approaches to address complex issues of livelihood improvement and conservation, governance of NTFPs is still poorly understood. In the Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot of Brazil, non-governmental organizations, researchers and community leaders are encouraging the commercialization of fruit pulp-based products from the endangered palm Euterpe edulis, known as juçara, to replace income from illegal heart of palm extraction. In order to assess the governance of development of juçara pulp as an NTFP and the potential to increase conservation of juçara through management on smallholder properties, we conducted qualitative research in São Paulo State from October 2012 to October 2013. Major challenges include policy barriers, difficulties integrating production and commercialization, problematic assumptions about poverty alleviation and the inability of the most disadvantaged members of communities to benefit. These governance challenges are a function of poor access, or the ‘bundle of powers’ that enables the ability to benefit. However, engagement with juçara fruit pulp production links farmers and former poachers with sustainable agricultural concepts and with networks, changing their perceptions of conservation and enhancing ability to benefit from improved policy.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agrawal, A. & Gibson, C.C. (1999) Enchantment and disenchantment: the role of community in natural resource conservation. World Development 27: 629649.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Agrawal, A. (2005) Environmentality: community, intimate government, and the making of environmental subjects in Kumaon, India. Current Anthropology 46: 161190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ambrose-Oji, B. (2003) The contribution of NTFPs to the livelihoods of the ‘forest poor’: evidence from the tropical forest zone of south-west Cameroon. International Forestry Review 5: 106117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arnold, J.E.M. & Ruíz-Pérez, M. (2001) Can non-timber forest products match tropical forest conservation and development objectives? Ecological Economics 39: 437447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ball, A.A., Gouzerh, A. & Brancalion, P.H.S. (2014) Multi-scalar governance for restoring the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: a case study on small landholdings in protected areas of sustainable development. Forests 5: 599619.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Begossi, A. (1999) Caiçaras, caboclos and natural resources: rules and scale patterns. Ambiente & Sociedade 5: 5567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belcher, B. & Schreckenberg, K. (2007) Commercialisation of non-timber forest products: a reality check. Development Policy Review 25: 355377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belcher, B., Ruíz-Pérez, M. & Achdiawan, R. (2005) Global patterns and trends in the use and management of commercial NTFPs: implications for livelihoods and conservation. World Development 33: 14351452.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berkes, F., Colding, J. & Folke, C. (2000) Rediscovery of traditional ecological knowledge as adaptive management. Ecological Applications 10: 12511262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradshaw, C.J.A., Giam, X. & Sodhi, N.S. (2010) Evaluating the relative environmental impact of countries. PLoS One 5: e10440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brancalion, P.H.S., Vidal, E., Lavorenti, N.A., Batista, J.L.F. & Rodrigues, R.R. (2012) Soil-mediated effects on potential Euterpe edulis (Arecaceae) fruit and palm heart sustainable management in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Forest Ecology and Management 284: 7885.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brasil, Ministério do Meio Ambiente (2008) Instrução normativa 6, de 23 de setembro de 2008, Lista oficial das espécies da flora brasileira ameaçadas de extinção. [www document]. URL http://www.ibama.gov.br/phocadownload/category/47-_?download=999%3A_06-2008.p Google Scholar
Brondizio, E.S. (2008) The Amazonian Caboclo and the Açaí Palm. New York, NY, USA: New York Botanical Garden.Google Scholar
Chagas, G.F (2015) Manejo florestal comunitário de frutos como estratégia de conservação da palmeira juçara (Euterpe edulis Mart.). Master's Thesis, Piracicaba: Escola Superior de Agricultura ‘Luiz de Queiroz,’ University of São Paulo. [www document]. URL http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/91/91131/tde-16042015-111404/pt-br.php Google Scholar
Fantini, A.F., Guries, R.P. & Ribeiro, R.J. (2004) Palm heart (Euterpe edulis Martius) in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest: a vanishing resource. In: Forest Products, Livelihoods, and Conservation: Case Studies of Non-Timber Forest Product Systems. Vol. 3: Latin America, eds. Alexiades, M.N. & Shanley, P., pp. 135155. Bogor, Indonesia: CIFOR.Google Scholar
Feeny, D., Berkes, F., McCay, B.J. & Acheson, J.M. (1990) The tragedy of the commons: twenty-two years later. Human Ecology 18: 119.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Galetti, M. & Fernandez, J.C. (1998) Palm heart harvesting in the Brazilian Atlantic forest: changes in industry structure and the illegal trade. Journal of Applied Ecology 35: 294301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gobeze, T., Bekele, M., Lemenih, M. & Kassa, H. (2009) Participatory forest management and its impacts on livelihoods and forest status: the case of Bonga forest in Ethiopia. International Forestry Review 11: 346358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Granich, C.I., Purata, S.E., Edouard, F., Pardo, F.S. & Tovar, C. (2010) Chapter 8: Overcoming barriers in collectively managed NTFPs in Mexico. In: Wild Product Governance: Finding Policies that Work for Non-Timber Forest Products, eds. Laird, S.A., McLain, R.J. & Wynberg, R.P.. London, UK: Earthscan.Google Scholar
Igoe, J. (2006) Measuring the costs and benefits of conservation to local communities. Journal of Ecological Anthropology 10: 7277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kar, S.P. & Jacobson, M.G. (2012) NTFP income contribution to household economy and related socio–economic factors: lessons from Bangladesh. Forest Policy and Economics 14: 136142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kusters, K., Achdiawan, R., Belcher, B. & Ruiz-Pérez, M. (2006) Balancing development and conservation? An assessment of livelihood and environmental outcomes of nontimber forest product trade in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Ecology and Society 11 (2): 20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laird, S.A., McLain, R.J. & Wynberg, R.P. (2010a) Introduction. In: Wild Product Governance: Finding Policies that Work for Non-Timber Forest Products, eds. Laird, S.A., McLain, R.J. & Wynberg, R.P.. London, UK: Earthscan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laird, S.A., Wynberg, R.P. & McLain, R.J (2010b) Chapter 15: The state of NTFP policy and law. In: Wild Product Governance: Finding Policies that Work for Non-Timber Forest Products, eds. Laird, S.A., McLain, R.J. & Wynberg, R.P.. London, UK: Earthscan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leach, M., Mearns, R. & Scoones, I. (1999) Environmental entitlements: dynamics and institutions in community-based natural resource management. World Development 27: 225247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lebel, L., Anderies, J.M, Campbell, B., Folke, C., Hatfield-Dodds, S., Hughes, T.P. & Wilson, J. (2006) Governance and the capacity to manage resilience in regional social–ecological systems. Ecology and Society 11: 19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lemos, M.C. & Agrawal, A. (2006) Environmental governance. Annual Review of Environmental Resources 31: 297325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacPherson, C.B. (1978) The meaning of property. In: Property: Mainstream and Critical Positions, ed. MacPherson, C.B., pp. 114. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Marshall, E., Schreckenberg, K. & Newton, A.C. (2006) Commercialization of Non-Timber Forest Products: Factors Influencing Success. Lessons Learned from Mexico and Bolivia and policy implications for decision-makers. Cambridge, UK: UNEP/WCMC.Google Scholar
McShane, T.O., Hirsch, P.D., Trung, T.C., Songorwa, A.N., Kinsig, A., Monteferri, B., Mutekanga, D., Thang, H.V., Dammert, J.L., Pulgar-Vidal, M., Welch-Devine, M., Brosius, J.P., Coppolillo, P. & O'Connor, S. (2011) Hard choices: making trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and human well-being. Biological Conservation 144: 966972.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mesquita, C.A.B., Holvorcem, C.G.D., Lyrio, C.H., de Menezes, P.D., da Silva Dias, J.D. & Azevedo, J.F. (2010) COOPLANTAR: a Brazilian initiative to integrate forest restoration with job and income generation in rural areas. Ecological Restoration 28: 199207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muler, A.E., Rother, D.C., Brancalion, P.H.S., Naves, R.P., Rodrigues, R.R. & Pizo, M.A. (2014) Can overharvesting of a non-timber-forest-product change the regeneration dynamics of a tropical rainforest? The case study of Euterpe edulis . Forest Ecology and Management 324: 117125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nepstad, D.C. & Schwartzman, S. (1992) Non-Timber Products from Tropical Forests: Evaluation of a Conservation and Development Strategy. Advances in Economic Botany Vol. 9. Bronx, NY, USA: New York Botanical Garden.Google Scholar
Olsson, P., Folke, C. & Berkes, F. (2004) Adaptive co-management for building resilience in social–ecological systems. Environmental Management 34: 7590.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ostrom, E. (1999) Revisiting the commons: local lessons, global challenges. Science 284: 278282.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Penna-Firme, R. & Brondizio, E. (2007) The risks of commodifying poverty: rural communities, Quilombola identity, and nature conservation in Brazil. Habitus 5: 355373.Google Scholar
Peres, C.A., Gardner, T.A., Barlow, J., Zuanon, J., Michalski, F., Lees, A.C., Vieira, I.C.G., Moreira, F.M.S. & Feeley, K.J. (2010) Biodiversity conservation in human-modified Amazonian forest landscapes. Biological Conservation 143: 23142327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peters, C.M. (1997) Sustainable use of biodiversity: myths, realities, and potential. In: Biodiversity and Human Health, eds. Grifo, F. & Rosenthal, J., pp. 312333. Washington, DC, USA: Island Press.Google Scholar
Pierce, A. & Bürgener, M. (2010) Chapter 14: Laws and policies impacting trade in NTFPs. In: Wild Product Governance: Finding Policies that Work for Non-Timber Forest Products, eds. Laird, S.A., McLain, R.J. & Wynberg, R.P.. London, UK: Earthscan.Google Scholar
Pierce, A. (2010) Appendix: NTFP law and policy literature: lie of the land and areas for further research. In: Wild Product Governance: Finding Policies that Work for Non-Timber Forest Products, eds. Laird, S.A., McLain, R.J. & Wynberg, R.P.. London, UK: Earthscan.Google Scholar
Porter-Bolland, L., Ellis, E.A., Guariguata, M.R., Ruiz-Mallén, I., Negrete-Yankelevich, S. & Reyes-García, V. (2012) Community managed forests and forest protected areas: an assessment of their conservation effectiveness across the tropics. Forest Ecology and Management 268: 617.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rede Juçara (2011) REJU: a revista da Rede Juçara. [www document]. URL http://www.coletivocatarse.com.br/downloads/reju/revista_rede_jucara_articulaco_toda.pdf Google Scholar
Reis, M.S., Fantini, A.C., Nodari, R.O., Reis, A., Guerra, M.P. & Mantovani, A. (2000) Management and conservation of natural populations in Atlantic Rain Forest: the case study of palm heart (Euterpe edulis Martius). Biotropica 32: 894902.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ribeiro, M.C., Martensen, A.C., Metzger, J.P., Tabarelli, M., Scarano, F. & Fortin, M.J. (2011) The Brazilian Atlantic Forest: a shrinking biodiversity hotspot. In: Biodiversity Hotspots, eds. Zachos, F.E. & Habel, J.C., pp. 405434. Berlin-Heidelberg, Germany: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ribot, J.C. & Peluso, N.L. (2003) A theory of access. Rural Sociology 68: 153181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rigg, J.D. (2006) Forests, marketization, livelihoods and the poor in the Lao PDR. Land Degradation & Development 17: 123133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ros-Tonen, M.A.F. (2000) The role of non-timber forest products in sustainable tropical forest management. Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff 58: 196201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rufino, M.D.S.M., Alves, R.E., de Brito, E.S., Pérez-Jiménez, J., Saura-Calixto, F. & Mancini-Filho, J. (2010) Bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacities of 18 non-traditional tropical fruits from Brazil. Food Chemistry 121: 9961002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
São Paulo, Secretaria do Meio Ambiente (2004) Resolução SMA 48, Lista oficial das espécies da flora do Estado de São Paulo ameaçadas de extinção. [www document]. URL http://www.ambiente.sp.gov.br/wp-content/uploads/resolucao/2004/2004_Res_SMA48.pdf Google Scholar
Silva, P.P.M., Carmo, L.F., Silva, G.M., Silveira-Dinez, M.F., Casemiro, R.C. & Spoto, M.H.F. (2013) Physical, chemical, and lipid composition of juçara (Euterpe edulis Mart.) pulp. Brazilian Journal of Food Nutrition 24: 713.Google Scholar
Small, M.L. (2009) ‘How many cases do I need?’: on science and the logic of case selection in field-based research. Ethnography 10: 538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sunderland, T.C.H., Ehringhaus, C. & Campbell, B.M. (2008) Conservation and development in tropical forest landscapes: a time to face the trade-offs? Environmental Conservation 34: 276279.Google Scholar
Sunderlin, W.D., Angelsen, A., Belcher, B., Burgers, P., Nasi, R., Santoso, L. & Wunder, S. (2005) Livelihoods, forests, and conservation in developing countries: an overview. World Development 33: 13831402.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, D.R. (2006) A general inductive approach for analyzing qualitative evaluation data. American Journal of Evaluation 27: 237246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ticktin, T. (2004) The ecological implications of harvesting non-timber forest products. Journal of Applied Ecology 41: 1121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, R. & Stein, M. (2005) Snowball sampling. In: The Encyclopedia of Social Measurement, ed. Kempf-Leonard, K., pp. 495500. San Diego, CA, USA: Elsevier.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wunder, S. (2001) Poverty alleviation and tropical forests – what scope for synergies? World Development 29: 18171833.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wunder, S., Angelsen, A. & Belcher, B. (2014) Forests, livelihoods, and conservation: broadening the empirical base. World Development 64: S1S11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar