Manejo tradicional de plantas em regiões neotropicais

Abstract

The main aspects of traditional plant management techniques exercised in the Neotropic are briefly reviewed. The aims of this work are: I. to describe how some traditional populations, especially those located in Neotropical areas, manage natural resources; 2. to identify the main strategies employed; 3. to emphasize the contribution of traditional techniques to the sustainable development and management of natural resources. Two types of resource management are characterized and discussed: community management, and individual species management. In view ofthe fact that some traditional populations manage natural resources based on an integrated conception of nature, it is possible to verify that traditional knowledge systems can contribute to sustainable development.