Traditional ecological knowledge of palms by quilombolas communities on the Brazil-Bolivia border, Meridional Amazon

O trabalho teve como objetivo estudar o conhecimento ecológico tradicional dos quilombolas sobre a diversidade, ocorrência e o uso de palmeiras em Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade, Mato Grosso. Usamos o método bola de neve, baseado no conhecimento de palmeiras para seleção dos entrevistados e técnica de lista livre. Realizamos 32 entrevistas em três comunidades quilombolas: Boqueirão, Retiro e Casalvasco e Manga. A lista livre mostrou 18 espécies de palmeiras conhecidas, babaçu (Attalea speciosa) foi citada por todos os entrevistados (100%), açaí (Euterpe precatoria) (94%), bocaiúva (Acrocomia aculeata) (81%), acuri (Attalea phalerata), buriti (Mauritia flexuosa L.F.) (78%) e tucum (Astrocaryum huaimi) (75%). O consenso cultural ficou concentrado em sete espécies nativas. O conhecimento ecológico tradicional deste grupo social possibilita desenhar um programa participativo de uso sustentável dessas palmeiras em bases ecológicas e culturais

Whose Sense of Place? Catering for Residents and Tourists from an Open-Access Protected Area in South Africa

In addition to providing benefits to people, protected areas are valued in ways that go beyond the tangible. A sense of place, and the collection of values, feelings, and meanings associated with a place, can illuminate people-place relationships. Understanding how people relate to a place is essential in acquiring support for protected areas. This research investigates tourists’ and residents’ sense of place in Knysna, an open-access section of the Garden Route National Park, South Africa. Data was collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The sense of place was characterised using five variables: physical, cultural, social, dependent, and ideological. Although ‘physical’ was the dominant variable for both tourists and residents, the ‘ideological’ for residents and the ‘cultural’ for tourists came second, highlighting the importance of safe places and recreational activities, respectively. The physical environment influences sense of place, and the importance of protected areas to stakeholders offers an opportunity for management to engage with the public

Relational values about nature in protected area research

Protected areas are increasingly expected to justify their existence in terms of their importance to society. However, this importance, and the complex ways in which people relate to protected areas, cannot be captured by instrumental and intrinsic value framings alone. Rather, our understanding of the role of protected areas in society needs to take account of people’s relational values about nature. Here we review the literature on values associated with human-nature connection and related concepts to highlight which approaches are currently being used to understand expressions of relational values in empirical protected area research. Our results highlights seven ‘application domains’ for relational values research, highlighting expressions of relational values, and the stakeholder focus of each. Place-focused and psychological theories were most common across these domains. This work represents a first step in developing the foundations of a relational value research agenda in protected areas

Participatory mapping in a developing country context: Lessons from South Africa

Digital participatory mapping improves accessibility to spatial information and the way in which knowledge is co-constructed and landscapes co-managed with impoverished communities. However, many unintended consequences for social and epistemic justice may be exacerbated in developing country contexts. Two South African case studies incorporating Direct-to-Digital participatory mapping in marginalized communities to inform land-use decision-making, and the ethical challenges of adopting this method are discussed. Understanding the past and present context of the site and the power dynamics at play is critical to develop trust and manage expectations among research participants. When employing unfamiliar technology, disparate literacy levels and language barriers create challenges for ensuring participants understand the risks of their involvement and recognize their rights. The logistics of using this approach in remote areas with poor infrastructure and deciding how best to leave the participants with the maps they have co-produced in an accessible format present further challenges. Overcoming these can however offer opportunity for redressing past injustices and empowering marginalized communities with a voice in decisions that affect their livelihoods

Relational values about nature in protected area research

Protected areas are increasingly expected to justify their existence in terms of their importance to society. However, this importance, and the complex ways in which people relate to protected areas, cannot be captured by instrumental and intrinsic value framings alone. Rather, our understanding of the role of protected areas in society needs to take account of people’s relational values about nature. Here we review the literature on values associated with human-nature connection and related concepts to highlight which approaches are currently being used to understand expressions of relational values in empirical protected area research. Our results highlights seven ‘application domains’ for relational values research, highlighting expressions of relational values, and the stakeholder focus of each. Place-focused and psychological theories were most common across these domains. This work represents a first step in developing the foundations of a relational value research agenda in protected areas

Participatory mapping in a developing country context: Lessons from South Africa

Digital participatory mapping improves accessibility to spatial information and the way in which knowledge is co-constructed and landscapes co-managed with impoverished communities. However, many unintended consequences for social and epistemic justice may be exacerbated in developing country contexts. Two South African case studies incorporating Direct-to-Digital participatory mapping in marginalized communities to inform land-use decision-making, and the ethical challenges of adopting this method are discussed. Understanding the past and present context of the site and the power dynamics at play is critical to develop trust and manage expectations among research participants. When employing unfamiliar technology, disparate literacy levels and language barriers create challenges for ensuring participants understand the risks of their involvement and recognize their rights. The logistics of using this approach in remote areas with poor infrastructure and deciding how best to leave the participants with the maps they have co-produced in an accessible format present further challenges. Overcoming these can however offer opportunity for redressing past injustices and empowering marginalized communities with a voice in decisions that affect their livelihoods

Beyond benefit sharing: Place attachment and the importance of access to protected areas for surrounding communities

The concept of place attachment can assist to integrate relational values into ecosystem service research, and assist us to rethink the notion of benefits in contemporary protected area thinking. We present a case study from South Africa, where the concept of two-dimensional place attachment was used to understand the relationship between a protected area and a land claimant community that now owns part of this protected area but does not have physical access to the land. A place attachment lens helps refocus access to protected areas as cornerstone to long term sustainability of such areas. Such access must be considered in the context of spatially and economically differentiated users, including a focus on trade-offs between such users. Our findings highlight that when communities previously displaced from protected areas respond to offers of ‘benefit sharing’ with demands for access and recognition as land owners, they are asking for a recognition of relational values, and identity, based on close interaction with nature. A place attachment and relational values perspective raises questions about the extent to which traditional conservation practice can accommodate such values, and therefore meet local people’s expectations and remain viable in the long term

Beyond benefit sharing: Place attachment and the importance of access to protected areas for surrounding communities

The concept of place attachment can assist to integrate relational values into ecosystem service research, and assist us to rethink the notion of benefits in contemporary protected area thinking. We present a case study from South Africa, where the concept of two-dimensional place attachment was used to understand the relationship between a protected area and a land claimant community that now owns part of this protected area but does not have physical access to the land. A place attachment lens helps refocus access to protected areas as cornerstone to long term sustainability of such areas. Such access must be considered in the context of spatially and economically differentiated users, including a focus on trade-offs between such users. Our findings highlight that when communities previously displaced from protected areas respond to offers of ‘benefit sharing’ with demands for access and recognition as land owners, they are asking for a recognition of relational values, and identity, based on close interaction with nature. A place attachment and relational values perspective raises questions about the extent to which traditional conservation practice can accommodate such values, and therefore meet local people’s expectations and remain viable in the long term

Enrichment of IFN- producing cells in different murine adipose tissue depots upon infection with an apicomplexan parasite.

Here we report that lean mice infected with the intracellular parasite Neospora caninum show a fast but sustained increase in the frequency of IFN-γ-producing cells noticeable in distinct adipose tissue depots. Moreover, IFN-γ-mediated immune memory could be evoked in vitro in parasite antigen-stimulated adipose tissue stromal vascular fraction cells collected from mice infected one year before. Innate or innate-like cells such as NK, NK T and TCRγδ(+) cells, but also CD4(+) and CD8(+) TCRβ(+) lymphocytes contributed to the IFN-γ production observed since day one of infection. This early cytokine production was largely abrogated in IL-12/IL23 p40-deficient mice. Moreover, production of IFN-γ by stromal vascular fraction cells isolated from these mice was markedly lower than that of wild-type counterparts upon stimulation with parasite antigen. In wild-type mice the increased IFN-γ production was concomitant with up-regulated expression of genes encoding interferon-inducible GTPases and nitric oxide synthase, which are important effector molecules in controlling intracellular parasite growth. This increased gene expression was markedly impaired in the p40-deficient mice. Overall, these results show that NK cells but also diverse T cell populations mediate a prompt and widespread production of IFN-γ in the adipose tissue of N. caninum infected mice

Percepção sobre a prática de enfermagem em Centros de Atenção Psicosocial

A prática de enfermagem em serviços de atenção em saúde mental é algo construído no cotidiano das instituições, a partir das interações estabelecidas entre profissionais, usuários e familiares. Esta pesquisa é do tipo exploratória, com abordagem qualitativa. Objetiva conhecer a percepção dos profissionais dos Centros de Atenção Psicossocial sobre a prática cotidiana do(a) enfermeiro(a) nesses serviços. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas. Da análise temática dos dados emergiram dois temas: a enfermeira estabelece o primeiro contato com o usuário; a enfermeira é o elo entre profissionais e usuários. Os resultados demonstram que a prática de enfermagem em saúde mental busca construir ações inventivas, estabelecer vínculos afetivos, acolhimento e desmistificar o “olhar” que vê no diferente, no “louco” uma ameaça. É uma prática que enfatiza o sentido de produção de vida, do aumento da capacidade do usuário de estabelecer trocas sociais, possibilitando-lhe maior autonomia