Ilha do Cardoso Ethnobotany, Cananéia, São Paulo State, Brazil

ABSTRACT

(Ilha do Cardoso Ethnobotany, Cananéia, São Paulo State, Brazil). Ethnobotany is an approach concerned with describing the knowledge, use, and management of plants, and defiining, investigating, and describing dynamics of the relationship between people and plants within an evolving context. Ilha do Cardoso, despite being a restrictive protected area, has in its history the presence of traditional communities historically managing its ecosystems. These traditional residents are best known for their Indigenous identity (in the case of the Guarani Mbya Indigenous People, whose original territory throughout the whole Atlantic Forest dates back to times before the arrival of colonizers of European origin), or for their tradition of fishing and small-scale agriculture, in the case of the Caiçaras, and their ways of life are closely linked with the plant resources of Ilha do Cardoso and surroundings. Thus, focusing on the interaction between people and plants, this chapter aims to compile some information about what has already been studied in relation to the ethnobotany of Ilha do Cardoso. We also discuss some developments from studies with an ethnobotanical emphasis, regarding their implications for management and conservation.

Keywords:
caiçara; conservation and use; guarani; socio-ecological systems; traditional populations; use of plants