The ecology, management and marketing of non-timber forest products in the Alto Rio Guama Indigenous Reserve (eastern Brazilian Amazon)

Indigenous and other forest peoples in the Amazon region have used hundreds of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in their daily lives and seek to sell more to increase family income and support community development. The idea that NTFP harvests can satisfy economic goals and reduce deforestation pressure is politically attractive but untested because many NTFPs' production and market potential is unknown.; I spent two years studying production ecology of five marketable NTFPs with Tembé Indians in the Alto Rio Guamá Indigenous Reserve in the eastern Brazilian Amazon. These products were copaiba oleoresin ( Copaifera spp.), breu resin (Protium spp.), titica vine roots (Heteropsis spp.), amapá latex ( Parahancornia amapa and Couma guianensis), and andiroba seed oil (Carapa guianensis). The objectives of copaiba, breu and titica case studies were to: (1) quantify marketable product amount per plant and area, (2) identify factors that influenced variation in these amounts, (3) estimate the amount and time of renewable harvests, (4) estimate the time to find, harvest and process each product and its potential daily revenue.; Case studies showed density, average yield of raw product per plant, conversion ratio of raw to commercial product, time needed to prepare a saleable product, and product price varied dramatically between NTFPs. Since average NTFP density ranged from 0.5 to over 100 plants/ha, it had the largest effect on the amount of product and potential revenue from a first-time harvest. Plant size consistently correlated with product per plant, and plant interactions with weevils, bees, and possibly microbes heavily influenced harvestable resin amounts. The potential for repeated NTFP harvests from the same plants or population varied widely from once a week to once every several decades. The study concluded few NTFPs in the area were worthwhile to harvest commercially because most were too scarce, offered too little product, and/or were too low-priced.; NTFP production studies can help forest communities assess potential NTFP contributions to income and subsistence needs and guide development of harvesting schemes to preserve them as long-term resources. Mounting demand for consumer goods and longer-lasting settlements, however, will necessitate more NTFP planting and other activities to meet community needs.