Identificação de padrões de uso em espécies nativas em áreas de caatinga no estado Paraíba: um enfoque etnobotânico e conservacionista

Abstract

The conservation of tropical ecosystems has been a major challenge for biologists and ecologists in recent decades. In Brazil, the Caatinga is the least known scientific biome and has been treated with low priority, despite being one of the most threatened, due to the inadequate and unsustainable use of its soils and natural resources. Despite the advance and generation of biological and ecological information, notably in the last ten years, the approaches have contributed little in an effective, fast and direct way to conservation. This scenario highlights the urgent need for research that involves not only environmental aspects, but the social, economic and cultural dimension of the Caatinga's biodiversity. In addition, the studies carried out with these focuses, the ethnobiological and the ecological, are very local in character, requiring research that can determine the relationship of use and conservation of caatinga resources at the regional level. This thesis aims to identify and determine the existence of patterns of use of plant and animal resources at the regional level, and not just local, choosing the region of Sertão, Curimataú and Cariri Paraibano, being involved in the research of rural communities in 8 municipalities . Data from research carried out during the years 2011 and 2018 are analyzed, and includes a compilation of data generated by different researchers. Semistructured interviews were conducted in eight cities in the state of Paraíba, namely Itaporanga, Lagoa and São Mamede (Sertão), Cabaceiras, Soledade and Congo (Cariri) and Remígio and Solânea (Curimataú). In all, 537 informants were interviewed. An inventory of vegetation was carried out in all municipalities, using the methods of semipermanent plots and quadrants, in order to outline a comparison between the methods. It was possible to identify the main recognized species and their respective forms of use. These species were listed in categories of use according to the specific literature. attention should be drawn to the importance of data such as those in this manuscript to assist in the preparation, monitoring and enforcement of public policies that deal with the development of traditional populations and their relationship with the environment in a sustainable manner. Furthermore, it becomes interesting material as a basis for formulating situational diagnoses for public management, private initiatives, cooperatives and associations.