1. Environment-facing interventions impact the distribution, use of and access of natural resources and have important implications for all dimensions (material, relational, quality of life) of human well-being (HWB). Yet conventional impact metrics routinely surpass the non-material impacts which may be particularly salient in rural contexts where small-scale farmers depend directly on the land and biodiversity. Furthermore, little is known about the comparative performance of distinct interventions along a land-sharing, versus land sparing gradient, on local definitions of HWB.2. We address this knowledge gap, adopting a perception-based impact evaluation within communities across four intervention types representing the land sparing, sharing gradient: intensified industrial soy production (n = 60 HHs), a protected area (n = 70), an extractive reserve (n = 70) and a national forest (n = 70) in Pará in the Brazilian Amazon. We collected data using the Global Person Generated Index (GPGI) with household heads (n = 270) in eight communities (two per intervention type). Focus group discussions (n = 8) solicited residents' perceptions of impact pathways.3. Our findings highlight the important contribution of relational and subjective dimensions to HWB and call in to question the dominance of material measures in standard impact appraisals.4. Furthermore, we show that single sector and integrated approaches generate 'polarized impact footprints' in which integrated approaches achieve (a) more impact, which is (b) more often positive and (c) locally salient, the inverse is true for single-sector sparing style approaches.5. Areas of well-being that matter locally (culture, health and social relations), but are not impacted by interventions are relational, and point towards the potential of rights-based conservation to empower rural smallholders to remain in their communities while flourishing.
Os agricultores familiares do Nordeste do Pará tradicionalmente desenvolvem práticas de recuperação florestal em seus lotes, e mais recentemente vem adaptando-as. Nesta pesquisa buscou-se realizar uma caracterização dos tipos de recuperação florestal, analisando a existência de relações entre os tipos praticados e as percepções ambientais destes sujeitos. Para isso, a pesquisa apoiou-se em princípios da interdisciplinaridade e da abordagem sistêmica, e assim realizou um levantamento de sessenta experiências em quatro municípios da Mesorregião Nordeste do Pará, Brasil. A partir da realização de uma tipologia da recuperação florestal compreendeu-se as peculiaridades dessas experiências, destacando as principais percepções e motivações dos agricultores. Assim, foram encontrados cinco principais tipos de recuperação florestal praticados na região: Regeneração natural, Quintal agroflorestal e os três tipos de sistemas agroflorestais (Pouco diversificado, Diversificado e Altamente diversificado). Concluiu-se, portanto, que existe um quadro de recuperação florestal no Nordeste do Pará inspirado em novas percepções socioambientais e motivações de diferentes ordens. Esse movimento de recuperação florestal parece apontar um novo caminho produtivo para a Amazônia Oriental.
The expansion and intensification of açaí management in floodplain forests of the Amazonian estuary have resulted in changes in floristic composition and in biodiversity losses, causing problems to ecosystems and endangering livelihoods of riverine communities. These transformations have prompted the need for forest restoration. The objective of this study was to identify and analyze forest recovery initiatives carried out in floodplain forests previously subjected to intensive açaí management in the Amazonian estuary. Methods included structured interviews and questionnaires. Results reveled the following restoration types: 1) area enrichment: subtype 1 - high floodplain forest (7.89%) and subtype 2 - low floodplain forest (44.75%); 2) directing natural regeneration of native species (34.21%); 3) cultivation of native species (13.15%). Results suggest that forest restoration efforts can promote sustainable production of açaí, productive diversity, ecosystem conservation and generate income for riverine families.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.