Uma estratégia para a valorização dos recursos silvestres das regiões mediterrâneas de baixa densidade. Uma aplicação aos casos das aromáticas e dos cogumelos

Mestrado em Gestão e Conservação dos Recursos Naturais - Instituto Superior de Agronomia / Universidade de Évora

The realization of this thesis was contextualized by the elaboration of a Collective Efficiency Strategy (CES), for a low-density area of southern Portugal. The CES are conceptualizes by PROVERE Program as development strategies in the areas of low density that should be based on a distinctive thematic focus, expressed in endogenous resources and surroundings by a strong accountability and participation of various public and private actors. In the specific case, the territory in question is located in southern Portugal, in a transition area between the Serra Algarve and Low Alentejo, a region characterized by difficult soil and clime conditions, but high value of biodiversity, exploring the hypothesis that exploitation of wild resources in the Mediterranean could be the motto of the CES. The work was based on a participatory methodology, according to the new rural development paradigm which requires the involvement of all levels of government and various public and private stakeholders. This involvement resulted in the formation of a strategy in which the different views, opinions and sensitivities were heard, discussed and negotiated in order to generate consensus among all parties involved. The choice of local resources on which they could build a development strategy with the characteristics mentioned above, fell on the wild resources and related activities such as beekeeping, collection and processing of mushrooms, harvesting, production and processing of wild plants, or yet the production of liqueurs from wild berries, such as the arbutus, in consultation with other common activities, such as forestry and grazing, hunting and ecotourism, in a way to achieve territorial sustainability. In this paper we introduce some of the reasons that contributed to the development of a CES around these resources, focusing the argument on two main sources: the mushrooms and the medicinal and aromatic plants. These two features will be discussed here in a different way compared to other NTFP, since they present common features, while open-access products used in the Mediterranean since immemorial time, similar constraints in terms of sustainability of their harvest, the need for legislation regulating more specific and also the lack of strategies to concentrate supply that can produce a wide economic structuring. To better contextualize the issue of sustainable development, particularly in rural areas of low densities, the thesis initially includes a brief reflection on the subject, which also summarize the development of related programs, including ProDer and PROVERE.Then, and focusing on indigenous resources chosen as the leitmotif of this thesis, it should realize the importance assumed by NTFP, first at world level and then, at the level of the Mediterranean, illustrating some of the currently possibilities around these resources. In this sense, Chapter II will address the exploitation of NTFP by presenting a set of case studies that could serve as an example for the construction of the CES. Considering the importance of ensuring the environmental sustainability of the resources in question, the next chapter focus on the assessment of the exploitation potential for mushrooms and aromatic and medicinal plants, involving an inventory of resources and the elaboration of questionnaires to NTFP collectors. Finally, Chapter IV describes the participatory methodology developed during the construction process of the CES and the final vision obtained, including an Action Plan of the Strategy. ----------------------------------------------A realização desta tese teve como contexto a elaboração de uma Estratégia de Eficiência Colectiva (EEC), para um território de baixa densidade do sul de Portugal. O território de intervenção localiza-se numa área de transição entre a Serra Algarvia e o Baixo Alentejo, numa região caracterizada pela fraca vocação agrícola, mas de elevado valor de biodiversidade, explorando-se a hipótese de a valorização dos recursos silvestres do Mediterrâneo poder ser o mote desencadeador da EEC. O presente trabalho aborda a metodologia participativa que mediou toda a constituição da estratégia e apresenta um caso-de-estudo desenvolvido no sentido de obter informação sobre o potencial de exploração dos recursos silvestres no território de intervenção. O caso-de-estudo centrou-se no concelho de Mértola, focalizando-se nos recursos silvestres plantas aromáticas e medicinais (PAM) e cogumelos. São também apresentadas algumas pesquisas sobre casos de sucesso relacionados com estes recursos ao longo do Mediterrâneo, bem como os resultados de um conjunto alargado de reuniões e workshops com os diversos actores, finalizando-se com a súmula da proposta de estratégia para a valorização dos recursos silvestres num território de baixas densidades do sul de Portugal.