Assessment of Local Community Perspective About Caiman Management in the Mamirauá Reserve, Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify key aspects for the development of community-based caiman management in the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve (MSDR) from the perspective of the communities. Between 2014 and 2017, SWOT matrices were used to discuss opportunities and challenges of caiman management in the MSDR. The positive and negative aspects had a similar variation pattern, which suggests that the communities had a homogeneous perception, but there was 27% variation in opportunities and threats. Strengths and opportunities were cited approximately 26% more often, indicating a positive perspective. The main positive aspects refer to environmental conditions, capacity of the organizations and improvement of the market, while current market conditions, hunting and problems of organization and legal adequacy, were perceived as major challenges. The community-oriented perspective analyzed by a SWOT matrix can be a valuable tool to promote a comprehensive understanding of the productive system of caiman management.