4. Overview of the trade in Brazil nut and Caimans

4.1 Case Study 1. Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa)

4.1.1 Overview

Brazil nuts, locally called "Castaña", are harvested throughout the lowland Amazon and are an important source of income for the local people. The nuts grow inside a large grapefruit-sized pod, arranged like the segments of an orange, with approximately 12 seeds per pod.

The Brazil nut sector is considered the most important bio-business in economic terms in Bolivia. Together with Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa), other nuts and seeds like for example almonds are harvested by the rural population and the local industry.

The most exported NWFP of Bolivia are Brazil nuts, which have already been exported for more than 15 years. Around 99% of the total production Brazil nuts is exported (Bojanic, 2002). In the period January-November 2004 an amount of Brazil nuts with the value of US$ 54 million has been exported. The export of Brazil nuts represents 2,5% of the overall national exports and 45% of the exported forest products (IBCE, 2004). The Brazil nut supply chain provides direct employment to 15.000 persons (Paz Soldán, 2003). This contribution to the Bolivian economy is a result of the product’s competitiveness in international markets; since 1996 Bolivia is the number one exporter world-wide of Brazil nuts (CAEM, 1996).

Exports of Brazil nuts have been a common practice since the beginning of the last century. The value of the exports enabled Bolivia to become the first supplier world-wide.

Bolivian Brazil nut is produced naturally in the Departments of Pando and Beni. This area, together with some areas in Brazil and Peru, is unique in the world for the occurrence of Bertholletia excelsa in its natural state, and holds the highest quality and yield of Brazil nuts. 70% of the world production is in Bolivia, 20% in Brazil and 10% in Peru¹³. Brazil began to export this product earlier than Bolivia, giving the international commercial name to this product. They exported it as raw material, without processing it. The forests where Brazil nuts occur have been partly subject to a deforestation process. In Peru little attention was paid to this product, and only in recent years the economic importance is being noticed. In Bolivia natural rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) producers started to harvest and process Brazil nuts since the beginning of the century. When artificial rubber replaced the natural product and the rubber producers left the forest, a culture of Brazil nut collection was already established. Despite the difficulties caused by lack of infrastructure and tough working conditions, the extraction of Brazil nuts is very popular and there exists a high world-wide competitiveness for its production.

Brazil nuts are eaten in its natural form, but they also have the potential to be processed, mainly into essential oils for the cosmetics industry. This last use has not been developed on a national scale. The main obstacle for an expansion in the products development is its market, regarding quantitative and qualitative aspects, and the level of aflatoxins, a toxic fungal substance. (A more detailed description on this issue can be found in chapter 4.1.3).

4.1.2 Description of the Brazil nut supply chain

As Paz Soldan (2003) stated there are four important stakeholders in the brazil nut supply chain:

• The harvesters (zafreros): peasants and indians from Pando who live in the Amazon forest, with a very rudimentary collecting technology.

• The intermediaries (contratistas): informal intermediaries between processors and concessions.

• The concession holders (barracas): concessions are administrative units for the exploitation of brazil nuts which vary in size. A process of vertical integration has been observed in which ownership of barracas has been transferred to the processing plants.

• The processors (beneficiadoras): industrial plants where brazil nuts are processed for export, providing employment for 2 500 nut crackers, 4 000 helpers, 650 permanent manufacturing workers and 1 300 temporary workers.

Table 2. Number of persons involved in the different activities of the Brazil nut supply chain

4.1.3 Aflatoxins and non-tariff Barriers for Brazil nuts

Quality, regarding Brazil nuts and international markets, is mainly related to the maximum level of permissible aflatoxins, a toxic fungal substance, according to the regulations of consumer countries. Once producers overcome this obstacle, national offer could be increased with an immediate response since at the moment the capacity used reaches less than 50%.

Aflatoxins are produced by two fungi, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus paraséticus. Contamination can occur before and after harvesting when the fruit is penetrated by the fungus’ spores. This occurs under conditions of high humidity (80% and more) and higher temperatures (mainly between 25 to 30 ºC. The higher the temperature the larger aflatoxins content is observed. The highest risk of infection is when the fruit lies on the forest floor or during the storage. There are no artificial environment facilities, where aflatoxins occurrence would be lower.

There are 4 aflatoxins types, of which the most common one is type B1 aflatoxins, which can even be found in the ground and in the air. It is known that these biochemical products have toxic effects to humans and are presumed to provoke cancer. The main negative effects are alterations and deformations of the reproductive system, immunology system, liver, gastrointestinal system and breathing system.

European standards requires that the maximum content of aflatoxins in Brazil nut is 4 ppb (parts per billion) and, specifically for type B1 it shouldn’t be over 2 ppb, while in the USA a maximum content 10 ppb. With the reduction of these limits, regulations have become stricter and therefore a threat for producers and exporters of this product arises (Candela Peru et al, 2004).

4.2 Case Study 2. Caiman (Caiman yacare)

4.2.1 Overview

Latin America is the richest area in species of crocodilians, compared to any other area in the world; twelve taxa (including subspecies), occur from Mexico to Argentina. The vast area of humid lands and immense river systems provide an extensive habitat for caimans and crocodiles, being the reason for the large number of these animals in the region, though the exact number is not known (Messel et. al 1995). This situation causes that the crocodilians represent a resource of considerable ecological value and with a great economic potential (Pacheco, 1996).

Latin America has also supported the greatest hunting operations of crocodilians in the world. Historically, this hunting was carried out for the international trade in skins causing a serious decline and local extinction of some species. In the 1990’s, the region provided half of the skins of crocodilians world-wide (Messel et al., 1995). The loss of habitat and hunting continues, being a risk for the survival of several species. However, a basic change in the tendency of conservation of these species around the world, including Latin America, has been observed: international controls are implemented restricting the trade of wild life and improved management programs for conservation are set-up, generating some optimism with respect to the future of caimans and crocodiles (Ross 1995).

The adoption of strategies for the sustainable use of crocodilians has provided new incentives for the conservation of these species and their habitat (Messel et al, 1995). In Bolivia the development of a pilot program of sustainable use of the caiman started in 1995 with the program "Sustainable Utilisation of caiman in Bolivia" (King 1995), creating the basis for the adoption of the Regulation for the Conservation and Advantage of the caiman (Caiman yacare), in 1997. At the same time the General Biodiversity Direction (DGB), prepared the national program of conservation and sustainable use of the caimans in Bolivia, in which evaluation and monitoring of caiman population and other species of crocodilians was set.

4.2.2 Characteristics of the species

Caiman yacare known locally as lagarto (best translated as caiman), belongs to the family of Alligatoridae. It lives in in the surroundings of streams, lagoons and marshes in the forests of the departments of Beni, Santa Cruz, Pando, Cochabamba, La Paz and Tarija.

The adult males and females are dark coloured and are known as "black lizard"; and the young caimans have a yellowish colour and are known as "white lizard". Hunters, consider to the "black” and “whites" as different species. The commercial name in the international markets is "black yacare".

The nutrition regime of caiman consists mainly of crabs, shrimps and fish, though it also eats aquatic turtles, some birds and mammals up to the size of a deer. Reproduction takes place between August and November and the young caiman is born in December or January. The nests are constructed of vegetation and mud and the number of eggs varies in average from 23 to 41. Specific studies do not exist on the number of individuals born per reproduction cycle.

Different studies have determined an average in the length for this species as follows:

• Male overall length: 2,45 m, ventral longitude (determining the leather size) 1,225 m.

• Female overall length: 1,77 m, ventral longitude: 0,885 m.

The habitat of this species consists of moving waters for the "white yacare" and ponds for the "black yacare", in the borders of the Amazonian water bodies mainly. In times of abundance, they inhabited lakes, lagoons, wells, marshes and small streams in the plains and forests. Frequently they walk on land, crossing the drains when migrating from the great rivers to the different ponds.

The distribution of this Species in Bolivia occurs mainly as follows:

• Department of Santa Cruz: in the damps of the Isosog, rivers: San Julian, Yapacani, Ichilo, San Martín and the Pantanal of Puerto Suárez.

• Department of Beni: along the rivers Mamore, Machupa, Beni and the Lagoons of Rogaguado and Rogagua.

• Department of Cochabamba: rivers of Chapare, Isiboro, Cajones.

• Department of Pando: in the rivers of Tahuamanu, Orthon, Madre de Díos.

• Department of La Paz: The affluent of the Beni River that enter the Department and Madidi River.

• Department of Tarija: South east of the Bermejo River

The main use of the great reptiles is found in the leather industry. However, in 2004 some export operations of meat of caiman started, both fresh meat vacuum sealed and dry meat “Charque de jacare”, mainly to the markets of the United States, Japan and Italy where it is commercialised to restaurants of exotic food.

4.2.3 Technical base for the sustainable use of Caiman

Although some information from the 70’s about the caiman in Bolivia is available (Donoso - Mud 1974, lovisek 1977 and 1980), little importance was given to the conservation of caiman in the country (Pacheco 1996).

During the same decade the first inventory on great scale was carried out, and the results were published ten years later (Meden 1983), for the first time information on natural history caimans in Bolivia was available. The second concerted effort to compile information on great scale on the populations of the caimans was made in 1986, where, after six months of work, comparable data to that compiled by Meden on the distribution of the species and the state of some populations was available (King and Videz - Rock 1989).

As of that moment numerous works were made that offer to information on the population state of the Cayman yacare in diverse zones of the country like Beni, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba (Ruiz 1988, Videz – Roca 1987 and 1989, Ergueta and Pacheco 1990, Cow 1992, Pacheco 1993, Rebolledo Garin and Tapia-Arauz 1994, Llobet 1996, Llobet and Goitia 1997). The studies conducted in 1986 showed that although the species was practically exterminated in lagoons in some zones of Beni, in others was particularly abundant with densities from up to 70/km2 (King and Videz - Rock 1989). A similar result was presented in Santa Cruz, where in some zones they were reported of very low densities (king Videz - Rock 1989, Ergueta and Pacheco 1990 Rebolledo - Garin and Tapia - Arauz 1994), whereas in others like the zone of San Matías, the observed aggregations (especially during the dry time) produced high density, similar to the reported in Venezuela (Pacheco and King 1995).

At the moment the species is in danger (Pacheco and Aparicio 1996). In this sense, it is necessary to remember that the population is under strong pressure of hunting in most of the area of its distribution (Pacheco 1996). According to the recovery of the populations of the caiman in the last years an old program of sustainable use of the species can be made as long as the conditions and the established quotas of harvest are respected (Llobet and Aparicio 1999).

¹³ III Congress of AmaZonian Countries (2004)