O que o manejo do pirarucu pode nos ensinar: aspectos ecológicos, sociais e culturais aplicáveis a múltiplos sistemas socioecológicos

Abstract

Socioecological systems (SES) are the complex systems encompassing both the social (human) and the ecological (biophysical) dimensions. These dimensions are equally important and function as an interdependent system, in which changes in one dimension affect the other. For ensuring the long-term sustainability of natural resources management, it is necessary to guarantee the integrity of the SES from which these resources are part. Therefore, it is necessary to consider both the biophysical and the human dimensions of this system, including its social, economic, political and cultural components. Collaborative management (comanagement) is one of the available tools for reconcile the different dimensions of SES. Here, the arapaima (Arapaima sp.) comanagement was used as a case study to provide subsidies and incentives for the development of more effective natural resource management systems. Three different and complementary spheres were addressed: ecological, social and cultural. In the first chapter, we focused on the ecological dimension by evaluating the historical trends of arapaima abundance and size based on the perceptions of 247 fishermen from 67 communities located in the Juruá and Purus rivers, two major tributaries of the Amazon River. In the second chapter, we prioritized the social sphere and showed, based on interviews with 143 women from 54 communities on the Juruá River, that arapaima comanagement has the potential to promote greater gender equity in fisheries. In the third chapter, the cultural dimension was prominent as we used literature data to show how comanagement focusing on culturally important species can be a potential tool to promote ecological and social benefits, reconciling biodiversity conservation with local welfare.