AMAPÁ EXTRACTIVE RESERVE IMPLEMENTATION
(Project BR0883)
key sustainable development initiative in Brazilian Amazonia
is the establishment of a number of large extractive reserves
where local communities have the right to harvest natural forest
products. The network of extractive reserves was established by
the government in response to grassroots pressure spearheaded
by the murdered rubber tappers' leader, Chico Mendes.
The extractive reserves have fuelled hopes in the search for sound
development alternatives for Amazonia. The land technically belongs
to the government but the right of use is transferred to local
forest dwellers through a communityuse title. Today, there
are an estimated 300,000 families living mainly from extractivism
in the Brazilian Amazon alone.
Most of the international support for developing extractive reserves
has so far been centred in the state of Acre where the rubbertapper
movement is particularly strong. WWF is now supporting a pilot
project outside Acre to determine whether extractive reserves
can be developed elsewhere in the Amazon region.
The two reserves selected - the Cajari and Maracá Reserves
- are located in Amapá, one of the least environmentally
degraded states. Over the past three years WWF has funded efforts
by the National Council of Rubber Tappers to manage key natural
resources in the two reserves.
Some of the lessons learned from the initial extractive reserve
operation in Acre are being applied in Amapá. In some cases,
forest dwellers have found themselves exploited by middlemen who
buy unprocessed forest goods at rockbottom prices and then
sell them general goods at inflated prices. This system is gradually
changing as forest dwellers eliminate middlemen and find ways
of adding value locally to their products.
The reserve forest products in Amapá include Brazil nuts
and palm heart and fruit harvested from the açaí
palm. The palm heart is mainly canned for international export
while the fruit is widely consumed locally. The açaí
is a multistemmed palm which can regenerate indefinitely
with appropriate management.
Although 85 per cent of Brazil's total exports of palm heart come
from this region, smallscale marketing of açaí
has often foundered because of unreliable transportation to urban
centres (açaí spoils 48 hours after harvesting).
WWF is supporting the establishment of a pilot processing system
for açaí palm heart and fruit as well as a buying
and selling cooperative along the lines of the one in Acre.
WWF has also helped develop a basic river transport system and
supported a public hearing enabling residents to discuss the environmental
impact of a new road bisecting the reserves.
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