ABSTRACT
Natural resource management is at the core of the Amazon rural economy. The livelihoods of over two million people in the region are based on their natural resources, forests and waterways. This is a conservative estimate, which includes only those individuals who depend directly on fishing or extracting forest products, such as rubber, Brazil nuts, and tropical fruits. The remainder of the rural population, another two million people, depends primarily on agriculture, but derives as well some income from forest products and, given the specific characteristics of Amazonian soils which are discussed later in this chapter, small farmers also need to engage to some extent in natural resource management.
