Use of Animals for Communities of Small Farmers in the Réfugio de Vida Silvestre Matas do Sistema Gurjaú Northeast of Brazil

Millena Vieira Barbosa-Neto,Gilberto Gonçalves Rodrigues,Ivo Raposo Gonçalves Cidreira-Neto,Marília Lacerda Barbosa Fragoso

doi:10.26848/rbgf.v11.2.p477-489

Millena Vieira Barbosa-Neto, Gilberto Gonçalves Rodrigues + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.26848/rbgf.v11.2.p477-489

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Abstract

The Atlantic Forest is one of the largest tropical rainforests in the world and has a high degree of endemism, being one of the main targets of conservation actions in Brazil.The creation of protection areas (UC) is one of the strategies used to guarantee the conservation of this Biome. Ethnobiological and ethnoecological studies are important for understanding the relationships established between populations and ecosystems. Due to the ecological importance of the Atlantic Forest and the rich occurrence of wild fauna in its remnants, the present study aimed to characterize the use and knowledge of the farmers inserted inside and surrounds the Refugio de Vida Silvestre Matas do Sistemas Gurjaú (RVS Gurjaú) on local fauna. For this, semi-structured interviews were applied and the data obtained through the qualitative-quantitative analysis, using Local Value Index (IVL) and Value of Use (VU) indexes for men and women. The results obtained showed that the animals most used by RVS Gurjaú farmers' communities were mammals, being the Tatu (Dasypus novemcinctus) the species with the highest VU and higher IVL for men, followed by the Teju lizard (Salvator merianae), and for women the Teju lizard (Salvator merianae) presented the highest IVL followed by the Tatu (Dasypus novemcinctus) and reveals guiding strategies for the conservation of species by local populations. Most of the species mentioned are according to the IUCN in the category of Least Concern species, with only the Gato Maracajá (Leopardus wiedii) being Near Threatened species.

Highlights

Protected areas are considered as the main conservation strategy in the world and probably in Brazil
This model of creation with anthropocentric vision that benefited the urban populations with their cultural manifestations is inadequate from the conservation point of view, because favors natural areas based on their aesthetic value, neglecting areas essential to the functioning of ecosystems (Diegues, 2008) and the maintenance of the traditional populations living there
The data were obtained through interviews with the application of semi-structured questionnaires (Huntington, 2000), containing questions regarding the profile of the residents of the studied communities, their knowledge about Refúgio de Vida Silvestre (RVS) Gurjaú and about the local fauna

Summary

Introduction

Protected areas are considered as the main conservation strategy in the world and probably in Brazil. The initiative to create and manage protected areas in Brazil was influenced by the international movement to create National Parks, through the preservationist idea of protection that began in the United States of America (Medeiros, 2004) This model of creation with anthropocentric vision that benefited the urban populations with their cultural manifestations is inadequate from the conservation point of view, because favors natural areas based on their aesthetic value, neglecting areas essential to the functioning of ecosystems (Diegues, 2008) and the maintenance of the traditional populations living there. The institution of protected areas in Brazil occurred during the Republican period, during the 20th century, with the creation of a set of legal instruments and administrative structure, focused on the management of protected areas, among them: the Forest Code, the Code of Hunting and Fishing, Water Code and the Animal Protection Decree (Medeiros et al, 2004).

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