Environmental and market determinants of economic orientation among rain forest communities: Evidence from a large-scale survey in western Amazonia

Coomes, Oliver T.; Takasaki, Yoshito; Abizaid, Christian; Arroyo‐Mora, J. Pablo

doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.06.001

Cited by 37 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…In addition, the governance system has, either formally or informally, been supportive to Brazil nut gatherers and the sector as a whole. Yet as more roads dissect Amazonian forests and income from agricultural expansion in the Amazon region transforms local economies, the extraction of forest products may eventually play a lesser role (Ruiz-Pérez et al 2004;Coomes et al 2016). Since long-term Brazil nut production seems inextricably tied to a continuous forest cover, one key intervention is clearly to preserve large expanses of productive Brazil nut-rich forests functionally integrated within human-modified landscapes (Sayer et al 2013;Reed et al 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, new economic opportunities for forest-dependent people are inducing a transition from traditional extractive activities to greater investment in cattle ranching (Salisbury and Schmink 2007;Gomes 2009;Coomes et al 2016). In addition, trans-boundary road connectivity through the southwestern Amazon, although relatively recent, is already leading to forest conversion in this key Brazil nut-producing region (Southworth et al 2011;Perz et al 2013).…”

Section: The Resource Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Revisiting the ‘cornerstone of Amazonian conservation’: a socioecological assessment of Brazil nut exploitation

et al. 2017

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The Brazil nut (the seeds of the rainforest tree Bertholletia excelsa) is the only globally traded seed collected from the wild by forest-based harvesters across the Amazon basin. The large geographic scale of Brazil nut exploitation and the significant contributions to local livelihoods, national economies, and forest-based development over the last decades, merit a review of the ''conservation-through-use'' paradigm. We use Elinor Ostrom's framework for assessing sustainability in socioecological systems: (1) resource unit, (2) users, (3) governance system, and (4) resource system, to determine how different contexts and external developments generate specific conservation and development outcomes. We find that the resource unit reacts robustly to the type and level of extraction currently practiced; that resource users have built on a self-organized system that had defined boundaries and access to the resource; that linked production chains, market networks and informal financing work to supply global markets; and that local harvesters have used supporting alliances with NGOs and conservationists to formalize and secure their endogenous governance system and make it more equitable. As a result, the Brazil nut model represents a socioecological system that may not require major changes to sustain productivity. Yet since long-term Brazil nut production seems inextricably tied to a continuous forest cover, and because planted Brazil nut trees currently provide a minimal contribution to total nut production basin-wide, we call to preserve, diversify and intensify production in Brazil nut-rich forests that will inevitably become ever more integrated within human-modified landscapes over time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Resource Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revisiting the ‘cornerstone of Amazonian conservation’: a socioecological assessment of Brazil nut exploitation

et al. 2017

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“…The myriad species involved, their extensive use, social embeddedness, and cultural value (often to marginalized groups), has prompted much research and policy attention from several social science disciplines seeking to promote equitable access, income, benefit sharing, and maintenance of cultural values (e.g., Shackleton et al 2011, Kar and Jacobsen 2012, Kassa and Yigezu 2015, Coomes et al 2016). Yet most social science literature on the use and value of NTFPs rarely acknowledges or examines the broader ecological role of the species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nontimber forest products as ecological and biocultural keystone species

Shackleton¹,

Ticktin²,

Cunningham³

2018

E&S

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Nontimber forests products (NTFPs) are the mainstay of rural livelihoods and local economies the world over. As such they are of interest to a wide disciplinary range of researchers and development and government agencies seeking to promote livelihoods, incomes, and ecologically sustainable practices. With the attention on the various human uses of NTFPs, their role and networks in the broader biological communities in which they are located are frequently overlooked. Harvesting of many NTFPs has effects not only at the organism and population scales, but also on co-occurring species, some of which may also be NTFPs. Thus, reduction or loss of one NTFP population or species in a specific area may have cascade effects on other NTFP species, including those used for cultural purposes. We illustrate the little appreciated importance of NTFPs in broader ecological and social systems by assessing and illustrating the importance of NTFP species as ecological or biocultural keystones in providing regulating and supporting ecological services to other species and cultural services to people. We present a number of examples where NTFP species act as keystones in ecological and cultural systems, including food, pollination and dispersal, animal health, nutrients, shelter and protection, and cultural symbolism, most of which have not been considered by NTFP researchers and practitioners. From these examples we distill six propositions regarding NTFPs and discuss the value of recognizing some NTFPs as biocultural keystones to acknowledge and highlight their roles at broader scales.

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“…Unaffected by flooding, upland communities function as a safety net for lowland communities, even if they are less productive. With greater fluctuations in flood levels expected with climate change and a growing emphasis on agriculture over forest‐based economic activity among rain forest communities (Coomes and others ), food security and ultimately the viability of lowland communities may well become increasingly dependent on the ability to secure planting stock from upland communities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rural Social Networks along Amazonian Rivers: Seeds, Labor and Soccer among Communities on the Napo River, Peru

Abizaid

Coomes

Takasaki

et al. 2018

Geographical Review

Self Cite

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ABSTRACT. Research on Amazonian communities has focussed more often on ruralurban linkages than on links among rural communities. This is unsurprising, given the low density of population, limited intercommunity commerce, and importance of direct city-market relations. Social relations among rural communities are also important in shaping rural livelihoods and lifeways. We report on the findings of a large-scale census of communities in the Napo River basin in northeastern Peru (n=174). Data were gathered on intervillage crop seed acquisition and cooperative labor sharing as two key inputs in agriculture, and on intervillage soccer matches, which are integral to rural social life. We analyze the socio-spatial networks of each practice, paying attention to settlement patterns, community ethnicity, and differential access to the uplands. We find that seeds and labor flow along soccer network lines. Rural social networks appear to be structured strongly by ethnicity (homophily) and reflect important complementarities between upland and lowland communities (weak ties).

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Environmental and market determinants of economic orientation among rain forest communities: Evidence from a large-scale survey in western Amazonia

Cited by 37 publications

References 40 publications

Revisiting the ‘cornerstone of Amazonian conservation’: a socioecological assessment of Brazil nut exploitation

Revisiting the ‘cornerstone of Amazonian conservation’: a socioecological assessment of Brazil nut exploitation

Nontimber forest products as ecological and biocultural keystone species

Rural Social Networks along Amazonian Rivers: Seeds, Labor and Soccer among Communities on the Napo River, Peru

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