Livelihood strategies and use of forest resources in a protected area in the Brazilian semiarid

Planning conservation strategies in semiarid regions is challenging since local populations are socially vulnerable and highly dependent on natural resources. Consequently, accessing the factors that develop knowledge and determine the use of forest products could aid in planning conservation actions or rethinking past strategies. We use an environmentally protected area in the Brazilian semiarid to describe the livelihood strategies of the local people and assess how socioeconomic variables affect the dependence on forest resources. We tested whether better conserved areas (with greater vegetation cover) have greater concentrations of useful species for local populations than less protected areas. Our findings demonstrate that families with retired or non-farming members have higher incomes. Additionally, men and elder people have greater knowledge about native medicinal plants, while people with lower household income have greater knowledge of native edible plants. Income and the number of residents in households do not explain the demand for wood forest products. Finally, the conservation levels of forest areas did not affect the number of useful species in the landscape. Local populations have a low socioeconomic dynamism, being highly dependent on natural resources, regardless of local variations in socioeconomic profiles. The variable of vegetation cover may not affect the distribution of useful species since it is only a proxy of total tree density and does not affect species composition. Finally, we recommend that creating fully protected areas in semiarid regions should be remodeled while prioritizing conservation units that allow the reconciliation of forest products’ use and biodiversity conservation.