The effects of trading non timber forest products to the social capital of extractive communities of the Brazilian Amazon

Author(s)

Maytê Benicio Rizek

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Eletrotécnica e Energia (IEE/BT)
• Defense date: 2010-09-20

Examining board members

Carla Morsello; Ricardo Abramovay; Renato Kipnis

• Advisor: Carla Morsello

Abstract

The belief in the capacity of Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) to reconcile the double aim of providing for the well-being of extractive communities and conserving tropical forests resulted in the implementation of various programs with this purpose in the Brazilian Amazon. Among these programs it is increasingly common the adoption of partnerships between extractive communities and companies to trade NTFPs. Recently, however, several studies have highlighted the shortcomings of trading NTFP, regarding both biological conservation and the well-being of communities. Within the context of well-being impacts, there is a fear the increased integration of largely autarkic communities into NTFP markets can disrupt cooperation strategies and sharing practices, which have economic and social functions to peasant economies, particularly for more vulnerable households. In this study, we focus on this issue and advance the hypothesis that increased trade in NTFP may disrupt those cooperative institutions, bringing negative consequences to the security of the most economically vulnerable subgroups. To test this hypothesis, we compare two communities of the Médio Juruá Extractive Reserve, Brazilian Amazonia, which share the same historical background and similar environmental and geographic conditions, but differ in relation to NTFP trade. While Roque community trades vegetable oils with cosmetics companies, Pupuaí carries on with previous economic practices. Data gathering techniques included random systematic observations, household surveys, participatory rural appraisal and structured and semi-structured interviews. The results indicate that the community integrated into NTFP markets has fewer cooperative events than the community less market integrated. Despite that, no pattern is observed when we compare the association between levels of market participation among households. Therefore, we concluded the hypothesis was only partially accepted, because the changes in sharing practices are observable only at the community level. When we evaluate the effects of cooperation networks on more vulnerable households, we find two main results. First, we find a different pattern between the two communities as regards vulnerable households. While more vulnerable households benefit more from cooperative events in the community integrated into NTFPs, the opposite is observed in the community less exposed to markets. Even so, because the frequency of cooperation is much lower in the community trading NTFPs, these differences mean more vulnerable households still get fewer payoffs from cooperation than in the community less market integrated. Secondly, households from the community trading NTFPs, besides cooperating less frequently, also do so with a smaller number of different households when compared with the community less integrated to markets, which means their networks of social capital are weaker. It is therefore not yet clear in which community the human needs of vulnerable households are better fulfilled in order to ascertain whether the reduction on cooperative behavior diminishes their well-being. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 07/06844-5 - Effects of Marketing Non Timber Forest Products: Do monetary incomes affect traditional sharing and reciprocity practices?
• Grantee: Mayte Benicio Rizek
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master