Keywords
Local ecological knowledge (LEK)
Socioecological sustainability Ethnobotany
How to Cite
Abstract
The sustainable use of non-timber forest products is essential for conserving biodiversity while supporting the livelihoods of traditional communities. The research was conducted in the Lençóis Maranhenses region (Maranhão State, Brazil), an area characterized by intense tourism activity and recognized as one of the main centers of buriti (Mauritia flexuosa) fiber extraction in Northeast Brazil. These features make the region a privileged setting to understand: how proximity to tourism hubs affects the diversity of uses, management practices, and the preservation of traditional knowledge associated with the buriti palm? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with extractives in municipalities with different levels of access to the tourism market. The municipality with the highest tourist influx showed lower diversity of uses (16 uses; H = 60.07; p < 0.01), a predominance of commercial applications (UDV for food = 0.645), a shorter interval between leaf collections (52 days), and a higher incidence of destructive harvesting practices (33%). In contrast, municipalities less integrated into tourism routes preserved a greater diversity of uses. Management practices were predominantly non-destructive, although signs of erosion of these practices were observed in areas with moderate tourism influence. Women play a central role throughout the production chain. It is concluded that tourism, although it enhances income generation and cultural visibility, promotes economic specialization and weakens traditional knowledge, increasing the risks of unsustainable resource use. Conservation strategies should integrate the strengthening of local economies with the recognition of traditional knowledge and the regulation of resource exploitation in territories under tourism pressure.
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