The effect of forest-based market opportunities on forest users is a central issue in conservation and development initiatives. Although economic theories presume that biological conservation can be achieved by demonstrating economic importance of natural resources, it remains debatable whether or not forest-based markets actually produce these results. On the other hand, studies show that forest products can contribute to livelihood stability by providing a source of insurance, security and income diversity. Viewing forest products as an accessible resource to local people, development initiatives often encourage community members to take advantage of forest-based market opportunities by learning new entrepreneurial skills. These initiatives may overlook, however, the complexity of human-environment relationships and the heterogeneity of knowledge, livelihood assets, and willingness to engage in forest products that exists among different social groups. Depending on their context and set of risks and opportunities, people can react differently towards taking advantage of available resources and market opportunities. This research explores how market opportunities affect livelihood strategies, decision making, and knowledge among traditional users, recently trained users, and non-users of buriti (Mauritia flexuosa) leaves in Maranhão state of Brazil. The intention is to use data collected through interviews to test hypotheses on the roles that individuals fill within the market, decision-making patterns for participating in markets, and knowledge transformation that occurs as livelihood strategies change. Results will include a typology of livelihood strategies, ethnographic decision models, and cognitive knowledge maps.
Although availability and management of natural resources is a global concern, many management decisions occur on the local level and social heterogeneity can greatly impact how these decisions are made. This study contributes to understanding the extent to which theories on human-environmental interactions, livelihood strategies, decision making and knowledge generation can be applied to emerging local markets and stratified forest user groups. As this study explores how development initiatives change user group profiles and affect local markets, research conclusions can add to community development theories and lead to more effective policies for improving livelihoods while maintaining forest resources. Among the study community, results can lead to more informed decision making regarding their forest-based livelihood strategies.
Brightly colored fiber handicrafts being offered by vendors along roadsides and in market places are a common sight in the Barreirinhas region in Maranhão, Brazil. Crocheted tablecloths, broad brimmed hats, bags embellished with colorful flowers, and hammocks are just some examples of these products. The handicrafts originate from the tall, stately buriti palms (Mauritia flexuosa) that tower above the many river tributaries weaving in and out of the landscape around Barreirinhas. Widespread across much of South America, buriti palms are one of the most important trees to local people because almost all of its parts are useful. In the past, local residents of Barreirinhas depended on buriti as a subsistence resource, such as for construction materials and a source of nutrition. However, with the growing influx of tourists over the last fifteen years to visit the nearby Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, the main economic uses for burití derivatives have shifted. Today, Barreirinhas is one of the few regions to specialize in exploiting the fiber of young burití leaves to make and sell handicrafts as a main income source. Whether people continue their traditional craft or new participants take advantage of market opportunities, increasing market participation can have varying impacts on different user groups and the local environment, which were the focus of this study. Availability and management of natural resources is a global concern, which grows more imperative as our understanding of the impacts of climate change and human population growth increases. One of the main conservation and development strategies used today in tropical regions relies on demonstrating the economic importance of natural resources, as an incentive to conserve forests. It is theorized that local users of natural resources maintain and conserve resources that have direct value to them. Studies show that extraction of forest products effectively prevents poverty and contributes to livelihood stability by providing households with an important source of security, insurance, and income diversity. Many studies on forest product markets, however, overlook the social heterogeneity that exists among forest product users, and its implications for the distribution of economic benefits. The purpose of our study was to understand the impact of social heterogeneity on distribution of benefits from a forest product market, by examining livelihood strategies, decision-making processes and knowledge levels of different user groups involved in the burití palm fiber market of Barreirinhas. Fieldwork was conducted during three periods, for a total of four months, from 2010-2011 among 15 communities in Barreirinhas. Data were collected through participant observation, and interviews with 149 individuals who were owners of burití resources, extractors of resources, artisans of handicrafts, and vendors of handicrafts, compared with non-participants in the burití market, as well as interviews with ten representatives of regional governmental and non-governmental institutions. Preliminary conclusions from our study show that different user groups influence each other, while each group impacts the market and burití palm resources in different ways. Direct access was found to be a main factor that effects how people exploit market opportunities. Such conclusions improve our understanding of the different effects of market change and development at a local level. Many development initiatives in Barreirinhas offer assistance to increase participation in the burití handicraft market, so a better understanding of how different forest-based user groups interact with the market can help to tailor such support to the specific needs of different local stakeholders in the buriti market chain. Since burití handicrafts are often the only income available to women in the Barreirinhas region, our study also focuses specifically on gender differences, contributing to studies that seek to understand the role of women in local economies. As a contribution towards developing more effective policies to prevent poverty among forest-based people while maintaining forest resources, our study shows that direct users may not always be the most effective managers of the resource. Policy and changes in livelihood strategies, which are often linked to shifting socio-economic and political factors, influence the overall management of buriti resources by different groups. As part of the study, six field assistants from the study communities were trained to conduct interviews during the course of the research project. Copies of results will be deposited with government and development organizations in the study region, and preliminary results were presented to the study communities. Research results will be disseminated through publication as a dissertation and articles in three scientific journals, and presented at two academic conferences. Our study adds to broad theories on socio-ecological systems by exploring how human culture and the natural environment interact and shape each other. More specifically, conclusions from our study contribute towards understanding human-environmental interactions, livelihood strategies, and knowledge generation among forest-based markets and stratified user groups.
