Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Various types of subsistence and commercial extraction of mangrove products are identified on the North Brazilian coast. Of 2500 households in 21 rural communities (about 13.000 people) near the Caeté estuary, 83% derive subsistenceincome, and 68% cash income through use of mangrove resources.
The mangrove crab (Ucides cordatus) is collected and sold by42% of households, and constitutes a main income source for 38%. Including processing and trading occupations, over half of the investigated population dependon the mangrove crab for financial income. Mangrove fishery occupies the lower rural income groups in the fisheries sector. About 30% of households engage in commercial fishing in or near the mangrove.
Illegal commercial and subsistence use of mangrove wood and bark maintains a considerable number of rural households. In the context of widespread rural poverty in coastal NorthBrazil, it is important for mangrove management to take into account subsistence production, which has a central socio-economic function for the rural poor who live close to the mangroves. Socio-economic priorities in mangrove villages were, in order of importance,educational quality, occupational options,medical care, the low level of mangrove product prices, access to electricity and local leadership quality.
Mangrove Products Multiple income sources at the household level are common in rural areas of Amazonia, especially where occupational specialization at the household level is lessviable because of low population densitiesand limited market size. Dependence on the mangrove by the rural population is also very diverse as specialization in onesingle target commonly does not meet the subsistence demands of a family (Tables12.1 and 12.2). Therefore, in the following,the different mangrove products are listed separately. The most heavily exploited resource in Brazilian mangroves is the leaf litter-consuming semiterrestrial crab. Morethan 60% of rural subsistence fisher householdsand over half of the rural commercial fisher households collect crabs for sale(Diele, 2000; Glaser and Diele, 2004).Ucides cordatus is a relatively large and slow-growing crab living in burrows. In theCaeté estuary, it reaches a size of up to 9 cm.
Special Thanks and acknowledgements to:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/m608n16061182671/http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/CABI_PublicationsPosted by:
Abigail Lim, Nicole Lim and Angelyn Ong
living nature
2:48 AM
