O manejo florestal comunitário da caatinga em projetos de assentamentos rurais na Paraíba

Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the results of community forest management of the Caatinga in the state of Paraiba. Interviews were conducted with 80 farmers in nine projects of settlements. The results indicate that there is lack of productive activities in the settlements, and that farmers depend on social programs resources, pensions and labor out of the settlement to compose the family income. Agriculture occupies between 2.1% and 10.4% of the settlements area, while extensive livestock farming uses more than 90% of the total area, with cattle access to the forest managed areas, legal reserve and preservation areas. The forest management proved to be an activity that generates jobs and income for the settlers. The amounts received by households, ranged from R $ 500.00 to 12,150.00 depending on the timber stock and the organization for exploration. In each settlement farmers have defined its own form of organization to forestry work. While in PA Brandões the activity was totally individualized, in the PA Serra da Cruz the activity was collective and, in other settlements the logging operation was individual but the sale was collective. The forestry work pays the settlers better than working outside the settlement, because the income from the exploitation of wood was R $ 68.00 per day, while the daily rate on farms in the region ranged from R$ 35.00 to 40.00. The main difficulties of the forest management were the lack of buyers and the low price of firewood. The results indicate that the implementation of community forest management ensures the maintenance of forest cover in 61% of the area of the settlements. The expanding of the environmental enforcement, the bureaucracy reduction and the continuity rural technical assistance can stimulate the practice of community forest management.