How can local representations of changes of the availability in natural resources assist in targeting conservation?

The use and appropriation of natural resources by human groups may be strongly related to the perception that these groups have of the abundance or scarcity of these resources. Researches on environmental representation can be useful to understand the criteria involved in the selection and use of natural resources, to verify if people realize changes in the availability of these resources and the possible causes of these changes and to elaborate conservation strategies, if necessary. However, if people are not realizing these changes, of if they do not perceive themselves as a cause of such scarcity, the developing of conservation strategies will be very difficult to implement. We investigated the drivers of sustainable harvest of Syagrus coronata (Mart.) Becc. (ouricuri palm) leaves by the Fulni-ô indigenous people in northeastern Brazil and accessed the representation of changes in the availability of the populations of this species over time. We obtained information about events that, from the point of view of the palm harvesters, pose threats to S. coronata populations. More experienced local harvesters tend to harvest leaves in a more sustainable manner than did young and inexperienced harvesters. The Fulni-ô reported a decline in S. coronata populations. However, they primarily associate such decline to the farming practices of non-indigenous people that lease lands in the area. Although the Fulni-ô people perceived a shortage of such resource, our findings indicate that the implementation of conservation strategies for the ouricuri palm may not be so easy to implement, once it affects one of their main income sources (land lease), which is recognize as the major threat for the species by harvesters. Ours results showed that the relationship between perception of scarcity and ease of implementation of conservation actions should be contextualized.