The economic importance of products extracted from Amazonian flood plain forests.

Rural people in the Peruvian Amazon practice agriculture and extract a wide range of products from natural forests, rivers and lakes. Their diversified livelihood system includes fish, game, and plant products. In 2 flood-plain villages, data for one year have been collected to compare the economy of local agriculture with the economy of extracted forest products for subsistence as well as for commerce. The study includes both fauna (game and fish) and flora (timber as well as nontimber). The results show that extracted forest products for subsistence, especially fish, are a main factor in the local economy. The daily net income from extraction activities exceeds both income from cultivation and the normal daily wages for unskilled workers, emphasizing the need for thorough socioeconomic investigations before any alternative land-use option is implemented. The average value per ha of natural forest used for extraction is in the order of USD 13 yr-1, and the average extraction area is 113 ha household-1. When yield from agriculture is included in the calculations, the total per ha value of current extraction and agricultural activities increases to USD 21 yr-1.