Gestão comunitária de recursos florestais pela comunidade de Ndelane do distrito de Machangulo com incidência no mangal

Abstract

The main objective of this work is to understand and analyze the community management system for forest resources, particularly those of the mangrove, in the community of Ndelane, Machangulo. To this end, the main local forest management rules were identified, the degree of implementation of these rules was assessed and the current status of the mangroves described. Finally, compare the rules identified with the current structure of the mangrove, through histograms of the distribution of trees in diametric classes, having as reference the histograms of the inverted J-curves (negative exponential function curve) determined for each species and for all species in set (diametric reference distribution). To achieve these objectives, a survey of socio-economic and biometric data was carried out. The collection of socio-economic data was based on unstructured interviews with key informants, and on structured interviews with a representative number of the population belonging to the Ndelane community. Biometric data were obtained from an inventory of sampling bands in the mangrove, with 3% sampling intensity, where diameters at breast height (DBH) and heights of all trees with DBH > 8 cm were measured. The results of this work show that in the Ndelane community there are main rules for community management of forest resources. These rules mainly concern the protection of food sources (edible fruit trees) and the restriction of the number of users. The exploitation of mangrove resources in the Ndelane community appears to be sustainable, given that the histogram of the diameter distribution of the mangrove (all species together) presents features of the inverted J-curve. The only species that seems to have a modified diameter distribution is Rhizophora mucronata’, in the case of this species there are fewer individuals in the lower diameter classes, probably because of the preferential exploitation of this species and these diameters. In the sustainable management of forests, it is necessary to balance the volume exploited with the growth of the forest. In the community of Ndelane there is no rule that expresses an attempt to balance the volume needed by the population and the productive capacity of the forest, and in the very near future an increase in pressure on the forest is expected to pose a threat to the sustainability of the forest. Forest exploration