Uso medicinal de vertebrados silvestres na reserva de desenvolvimento sustentável rio negro, Amazonas, Brasil

Abstract

The communities where the research was carried out are located in the Rio Negro Sustainable Development Reserve (RDS do Rio Negro), a sustainable use conservation unit with approximately 103,000 hectares. Understanding how local populations perceive and interact with biodiversity helps in the elaboration of management plans and in directing more assertive conservation actions that can reduce conflicts, change perceptions and influence behaviors with positive results in favor of conservation. Thus, this work aimed to (1) Characterize wild vertebrate species used for medicinal purposes by residents of the Rio Negro RDS; and (2) Characterize the medicinal use of wild vertebrate species; 76 residents were interviewed, which made it possible to identify 15 distributed in two classes of vertebrates. The mammalian taxon had the highest number of species (N=9) and then the reptiles (N=6). It was observed that of the species used medicinally, two of them, the tapir (Tapirus terrestris) and the peccary (Tayassu pecari) are threatened with extinction, according to ICMBIO. Another result is that of the 15 species that are used medicinally, only three (3) have no food use in the communities, so their slaughter occurs only for one purpose, unlike the other species that are used for food. The richness of species used by the residents of RDS Rio Negro shows a strong relationship with local biodiversity, but it is necessary to monitor the intensity of use of the species and assess the possible impacts on the local fauna and on the health of the residents as a way of preventing loss. of biodiversity and possible diseases that may arise. Keywords: Conservation unit, folk medicine, hunting, ethnozoology.