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Viability of the Babassu Palm Eco-socio-system in Brazil: The Challenges of Coviability

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Coviability of Social and Ecological Systems: Reconnecting Mankind to the Biosphere in an Era of Global Change

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Abstract

The babassu palm tree (Attalea speciosa Mart. ex Spreng.) is a species native to the Amazonian rainforest. The invasive nature of this palm tree results in a high density of babassu palm trees with a subsequent decrease in forage crop production. This is a serious problem for local farmers who have tried to resolve it by removing mature palms, seedlings and young individuals. Within these conditions, is coviability between the babassu palm tree and society possible? Our work consisted in developing tools and methods with the aim of producing knowledge and providing answers to this issue within a given territory. To understand the eco-socio-system, we have explored the available knowledge in the literature, produced specific field data, tools and methods such as mathematical modeling (dynamics of the palm tree population) and remote sensing (land use analysis thanks to Landsat high-resolution images and automatic detection of mature palm trees using Pleiades and GeoEye very high-resolution images). This multidisciplinary research in progress has already given us a good overview of the current situation of this eco-socio-system, enabling us to consider the best way to ensure its sustainability.

This work was carried out with the financial support of the Agropolis Foundation Open Science program (project on the sustainable management of the babassu palm tree, 2014–2017) and the CNES TOSCA program (CIC-TOOB project 2013–2014).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    “Extractivism” from the Portuguese term ‘extrativismo’.

  2. 2.

    Set of ecosystems in a certain geographical area with specific characteristics and a degree of uniformity, it is the biological communities (fauna and flora) which interact among themselves and with the physical environment also known as the biotope.

  3. 3.

    A population often coming from other States of Brazil that moved to the Amazonian pioneer fronts and developed agricultural activities.

  4. 4.

    Farmers with medium to large-sized properties spanning hundreds or even thousands of hectares.

  5. 5.

    Women with babassu nut-cracking as a profession; they are sometimes grouped into associations to develop this activity.

  6. 6.

    The Quilombolas are descendents of black slaves, whose ancestors, during the period of slavery, fled from sugar cane plantations, farms or smallholdings where they performed various handicrafts, to form small communities called quilombos.

  7. 7.

    Kayapó-Xikrin, Guajá, Guajajara, Apinajés, Krahô, the Saterê-Mawê tribes use the babassu palm tree.

  8. 8.

    Amazonas, Pará, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Rondônia, Pernambuco, Tocantins, Goiás, Acre, Mato Grosso, Ceará.

  9. 9.

    Use of a raw or prepared product, derived from the babassu palm tree, for various needs.

  10. 10.

    Approximately 36 million Euros.

  11. 11.

    Recruitment consists in the arrival of juvenile organisms within a population, in our case it is the seedlings from palm nut germination.

  12. 12.

    The non-stationary system is characterized by its instability over time.

  13. 13.

    OLI: for ‘Operational Land Imager’. This high spatial resolution sensor takes images of the Earth’s surface in 9 spectral bands (visible, near and middle infrared), with a spatial resolution of 30 m, except for the 15 m panchromatic band.

  14. 14.

    This method allows the calculation of probabilities of each pixel of the image belonging to each of the classes defined from reference sites in the image. The pixel is assigned to the class to which it has the highest probability of belonging. All of the pixels in the image are thus classified on the basis of these probabilities of belonging.

  15. 15.

    In simple terms, is the ability of a population, a species or an ecosystem, to return to normal functioning after a disturbance, a trauma (Blandin 2009).

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the inhabitants of the communities of Benfica and Las Casas (Brazilian Pará State), of Sobradinho and Redenção (Tocantins State) for their warm welcome during this study, as well as Mr. Deurival da Costa Carvalho for his efficiency, involvement and positive attitude during the fieldwork.

Os autores agradecem os habitantes das comunidades de Benfica e Las Casas (Estado do Pará), de Sobradinho e Redenção (Estado do Tocantins) para a recepção calorosa durante a realização dos trabalhos, assim como Sr. Deurival da Costa Carvalho para sua eficiência, dedicação e alegria durante as pesquisas de campo.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. IRD, UMR ESPACE-DEV, Montpellier, France

    Danielle Mitja, Nikolay Sirakov & Alessio Moreira dos Santos

  2. UMR 729 MISTEA, INRA –Institut National de Recherche Agronomique, Montpellier, France

    Nikolay Sirakov

  3. IEDAR-Instituto de Estudos em Desenvolvimento Agrário e Regional, UNIFESSPA-Universidade Federal do Sul e Sudeste do Pará, Marabá, Brazil

    Alessio Moreira dos Santos

  4. ISARH-Instituto Ambiental e de Recursos Hídricos, UFRA-Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia, Belém, Brazil

    Alessio Moreira dos Santos & Izildinha de Souza Miranda

  5. UMR 228 Espace-Dev, IRD-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Montpellier, France

    Sol González-Pérez

  6. NAEA-Núcleo de Altos Estudos Amazônicos, UFPA-Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil

    Sol González-Pérez

  7. IRD, UMR ESPACE-DEV, Maison de la télédétection, Montpellier, France

    Deiane Jorge Macedo, Eric Delaître & Laurent Demagistri

  8. INRA (institut National de Recherche Agronomique), UMR MISTEA, Montpellier, France

    Patrice Loisel

  9. Université de Montpellier, UMR LAMETA, Montpellier, France

    Hélène Rey-Valette

  10. UNITINS/Fundação Universidade do Tocantins, Palmas, Tocantins, Brazil

    Maria Regina Teixeira da Rocha

  11. UMR 729 MISTEA, Montpellier SupAgro, Montpellier, France

    Bénédicte Fontez

  12. University of Montpellier, UMR ESPACE-DEV, Montpellier, France

    Thérèse Libourel

  13. UM-Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Thérèse Libourel

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  1. Danielle Mitja
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  2. Nikolay Sirakov
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  3. Alessio Moreira dos Santos
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  4. Sol González-Pérez
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  7. Laurent Demagistri
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  8. Patrice Loisel
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  9. Izildinha de Souza Miranda
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  10. Hélène Rey-Valette
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  11. Maria Regina Teixeira da Rocha
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  12. Bénédicte Fontez
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  13. Thérèse Libourel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Danielle Mitja .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. IRD - French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, UMR ESPACE-DEV, Montpellier, France

    Olivier Barrière

  2. Center for Research on Environment, Human Security and Governance (CERES), Ibn Zohr University of Agadir, Agadir, Morocco

    Mohamed Behnassi

  3. IRD - French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, UMR ESPACE-DEV, Montpellier, France

    Gilbert David

  4. IRSTEA, National Research Institute of Science and Technology for Environment and Agriculture, Montpellier, France

    Vincent Douzal

  5. IRD - French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, UMR ESPACE-DEV, Montpellier, France

    Mireille Fargette

  6. University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Thérèse Libourel

  7. IRD - French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, UMR ESPACE-DEV, Montpellier, France

    Maud Loireau

  8. University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Laurence Pascal

  9. The Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

    Catherine Prost

  10. The Federal University of Pará, Belém, Brazil

    Voyner Ravena-Cañete

  11. IRD - French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, UMR ESPACE-DEV, Montpellier, France

    Frédérique Seyler

  12. CNRS – The French National Center for Scientific Research, Paris, France

    Serge Morand

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Mitja, D. et al. (2019). Viability of the Babassu Palm Eco-socio-system in Brazil: The Challenges of Coviability. In: Barrière, O., et al. Coviability of Social and Ecological Systems: Reconnecting Mankind to the Biosphere in an Era of Global Change. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78111-2_14

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