Ecosystem stewardship and desirable social-ecological transformations: lessons from São Luís do Paraitinga, southeast Brazil

The municipality of São Luís do Paraitinga is similar to many others in the Upper Paraíba River Valley, southeast Brazil, both socially and environmentally. With numerous hills and valleys, it is embedded in the Atlantic... [ view full abstract ]

The municipality of São Luís do Paraitinga is similar to many others in the Upper Paraíba River Valley, southeast Brazil, both socially and environmentally. With numerous hills and valleys, it is embedded in the Atlantic Forest biome, a major biodiversity hotspot, and maintains a significant cultural ensemble and intermediate human development index. Decades of poor land management led to low fertility and high compaction of the soil, besides siltation of watercourses due to erosion. Such factors, combined with abnormally high precipitation, caused unprecedented flooding in 2010. However, since then, community-based initiatives and environmental projects targeting rural areas – mainly led by a local NGO and State agencies – have increased. Two of these initiatives fit into the ecosystem stewardship framework: “Village street market”, a weekly community-organized local market of produce and crafts, and REDE SUAPA - acronym in Portuguese for The Upper Paraíba River Sustainable Development Network. We refer to ecosystem stewardship because it links ecosystem resilience and human well-being across scales and emphasizes actions that shape the future. We analyzed whether these initiatives positively affect the quality of critical ecosystem services. We observed technical and community meetings where the initiatives were discussed and designed. We then coded and analyzed the data regarding the initiatives’ goals, rationale and outputs. The “Village street market” supports local smallholders, generating income and strengthening social relations within the community. REDE SUAPA aims at the recovery and conservation of ecosystem services in rural areas as well as income generation for smallholders. Its members believe that sustainable agricultural production, ecosystem health and valuing social aspects of rural livelihoods cannot be considered separately. An alignment between the two initiatives could strengthen both efforts, since both initiatives foster sustainable agricultural production. For example: REDE SUAPA fosters the adoption of sustainable farming practices (e.g. agroforestry) that improve the quality of other ecosystem services, such as water provisioning, soil fertility, erosion control, habitat for native species. Farmers at “Village street market” could also be technically advised to improve their farming practices. Another benefit would be increased acknowledgement of the importance of rural livelihoods. Both initiatives currently have only scattered local impacts. However, REDE SUAPA has created an amplifying feedback loop of regional environmental projects that is likely to expand current actions and consequently has the potential to foster socio-ecological transformation.