Effects of Community-Based Management on Amazon River Turtles: A Case Study of Podocnemis sextuberculata

Podocnemis sextuberculata is cited as "vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List due to a decline in its population as a result of the intensive exploitation pressure throughout its range. Understanding the effects of environmental characteristics and human activities on turtle populations is essential to improve current conservation programs. We analyzed the abundance of Podocnemis sextuberculata in the lower Amazon, where a management experiment is under way, by comparing neighboring areas with and without community-based management (CBM) initiatives. In addition, we analyzed the influence of environmental variables on the species' abundance. Abundance was measured by captures per unit effort expressed in number of individuals (CPUEN) and biomass (CPUEB). The effects of CBM and environmental variables were tested by General Linear Model analysis. A total of 354 individuals were captured, 321 in the areas under CBM and 33 in areas without CBM. CPUEN and CPUEB were strongly correlated, and their values were about 10-fold higher in the areas carrying out CBM initiatives. The variable that best explained variation in CPUEN and CPUEB was CBM. Distance between the sampling point and the nearest nesting beach and river level also influenced capture rates. Results clearly show that local fishing restrictions can have a positive influence on turtle populations. © 2013 Chelonian Research Foundation

Etnografia e manejo de recursos naturais pelos índios Deni, Amazonas, Brasil Ethnography and natural resources management by the Deni Indians, Amazonas, Brazil

São raros os estudos envolvendo o uso múltiplo de recursos naturais por populações amazônicas. Este trabalho apresenta um panorama de como os índios Deni, habitantes da região de interflúvio entre dois dos maiores afluentes de água branca da bacia amazônica, os rios Juruá e Purus, utilizam dos recursos disponíveis em seu território. Os Deni são, atualmente, índios que vivem da exploração de recursos da terra firme e de regiões alagadas. São um misto de horticultores e caçadores/coletores, que utilizam toda a sua área para a obtenção de recursos para subsistência. Como regra, deslocam periodicamente seus assentamentos, evitando o esgotamento local de recursos, e provocando a modificação local do ambiente. Esta alteração aumenta temporariamente a disponibilidade de alimento. Áreas com aldeias, pomares e roçados abandonados, por sua vez, tornam-se locais onde se concentram inúmeros recursos da flora e da fauna, posteriormente explorados. O impacto provocado por este sistema é aparentemente mínimo. Os Deni estão contextualizados na periferia de um sistema capitalista, onde a única fonte de renda para adquirir bens que são hoje considerados pelos índios como indispensáveis para sua sobrevivência são os recursos naturais. Estes são e continuarão sendo explorados de maneira a produzir um excedente a ser comercializado para a obtenção de uma série de produtos industrializados, independentemente das opiniões externas. É sobre este patamar que devemos avaliar a sustentabilidade do atual manejo da área.<br>Studies concerning the use of multiple natural resources by Amazonian indians are scarce. This work presents a portrait of how the Deni Indians, inhabitants of an area between two of the most important white-water rivers of the Amazon basin (Juruá and Purus Rivers), exploit natural resources in their territory. The Deni exploit both the upland and floodplain forests. They are a mix of horticulturalists and hunter-gatherers, using their whole territory to obtain what they need to live. As a rule, they move their settlements periodically, avoiding local resource depletion. The Deni modify the landscape at a local level, causing an increase in resource availability. Abandoned villages, fruit orchards and crops are places where floristic and faunistic resources concentrate and are systematically exploited. The impacts of such management are apparently minimal. For the Deni society natural resources are the only way to get goods for survival, but it is inserted in the periphery of a capitalist system which exploits and will continue to exploit natural resources in order to produce a surplus for the acquisition of industrialized products, independently of external judgements. This should be the starting point to evaluate sustainability in this local management system