Serviços ambientais e benefícios da natureza para as pessoas do maior arranjo de conservação de base comunitária na Amazônia brasileira

Abstract

The tropics are facing the highest rates of forest degradation globally, driven by commodity production, forestry, agricultural commodities, and forest fires, resulting in only 20% pristine forests remaining. Additionally, the overexploitation of wildlife can lead to the empty forest syndrome, impairing ecosystem services. The continued loss of forest cover and animal species jeopardize the food security of millions of people who depend on hunting and fishing. This biodiversity crisis, coupled with poverty and social inequality, challenges the creation of new development pathways that align biodiversity conservation with the improvement of local well-being. The Amazon, representing over 50% of the remaining tropical forests, is crucial for climate regulation and the maintenance of global biodiversity. Although Protected Areas are fundamental for preservation, many Amazonian Protected Areas lack adequate structure and management, and indigenous lands face invasions and illegal exploitation. Community based natural resource management initiatives that accommodate multiple local interests are emerging as powerful tools to recover historically overexploited species populations in the Amazon. Community-based Arapaima (Arapaima gigas) fisheries is a success story; however, challenges such as fishing monopolies, illegal fishing, logistics, and fair compensation for managers persist. This thesis explores the managed fisheries of Arapaima in the Juruá River, western Brazilian Amazon, through interviews with managers, association presidents, and fishers, to investigate the multidimensionality of this activity in territorial protection, social organization, and the contribution of nature to people. We observed that community management of pirarucu presents a polycentric and adaptive governance system to promote participatory decision-making, which has led to increased inclusion and improved monitoring and punishment mechanisms over time. This model can inspire other bioeconomy models for the Amazon. Additionally, the community protection of lakes for managed fishing promotes different local perceptions of nature's contribution to people, mainly in the creation and maintenance of habitats, air quality, materials, and the preservation of genetic resources. We demonstrate that the mapping of surveillance routes taken by managers substantially exceeds the area of direct interest for management (lake area). However, the costs associated with protection are disproportionate to the benefits generated by this activity, which can be valued through payment mechanisms for environmental services to better compensate managers.