**1. Introduction**

The state of Para in the north of Brazil is part of the official Amazon region [1, 2]. Its territory is mostly composed of savannas, wetlands, and hundreds of islands in the Amazon River's delta, including the world's largest fluvial island, attributes that, together with its seasonal weather, made it iconic for the study of the Amazon region [3, 4]. In terms of population, out of the 211.38 million habitants, 0.4% are indigenous, and 2.5% Quilombola [5–7]. However, − and yet as another form of neglection and discrimination - despite being the Quilombola six times higher than the Indigenous people, this community is underrepresented in the academic literature. This fact was evidenced using Google Scholar under the search term "Indigenous Communities," obtaining 2,990,000 results. In contrast, the search term "Quilombola Communities" only showed 17,400 results in a search made in July 2020 [8, 9].

Historically, the state was occupied by Indigenous tribes. Later, with the arrival and interbreed of Portuguese colonists, different communities developed, varying on the kind of labor and stile of living they developed (e.g., riveirinhos, occupying the riversides of the Amazon delta, working on fishing and seasonal crops). Adding to the racial mixture, the import of African slaves was made early during the colonial times to substitute the decreasing population of Indigenous people.

**Figure 1.**

*Location of the district of Santarem – where many Quilombolas are located, and ubication of the archetypical Quilombo of "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" (modified from [1, 14]).*

In this colonization process, African slaves revealed and emancipated, escaping their captors and moving from the plantations to forest areas of difficult access, funding free autonomous colonies/communities (Quilombos, inhabited by Quilombolas), in a process that lasted until the abolition of slavery in 1888 [7, 10–12]. Consequently, many villages are located along the Upper Trombetas, Erepecuru, and Cumina Rivers [13], at the north of Santarem. To consolidate the description of the numerous Quilombos in the region, in this document, we will present an archetypic - fictional - Quilombo named "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" located in the middle of the Trombetas River (**Figure 1**).

Due to their location and the nature of their social organization, these communities developed productive activities that did not demand large areas of terrain, with positive side effects for preserving the forest, as its integrity was key for the protection of the community. Also, their use and commercialization of local products is favored by good levels of (bio)diversity, which provides a diverse range of products. In this context, ironically, the discrimination towards these communities – and consequently, their limited access to technology – impose constrains to the level of transformation of their products. Consequently, their offer to the market is composed of natural products that can fit within the categories or organic or rainforest friendly, being Honey one of those with high potential for their socio-economic inclusion and forest production.

### **2. The Quilombola context**

From their origins, the Quilombola founded various smaller villages as it made it more difficult for the government troops to find them, making the Quilombola more flexible and mobile as they could quickly relocate individual villages if they were in danger [10]. The National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform has figures from Quilombola communes regarding the number of large families and hectares used. In these figures, it is noticeable that almost the same number of families in Belem and Santarem are listed, but Belem's area is less than 10% of Santarem's area. Within this context, the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" composed of 70 families, would have as much land as the municipalities in Santarem, occupying 4177 ha [15]. A large part of this Quilombo can hardly afford to eat and therefore live in deplorable conditions [16]. Some houses of the Quilombo have been built provisionally from mud and bamboo [17]. Also, the village partly shows problematic sanitary conditions, with limited access to sanitation [18].

In terms of land, the Quilombola community "Barro Vermelho" illustrates these communities' general situation when only after a long struggle, they received the official status as Quilombola land [19]. The recognition of the Quilombola land is

**221**

**3. Current situation**

*Quilombo Communities and Opportunities for Market-Driven Mechanisms for the Protection…*

sometimes a very long process. Only 9.4% of the applications were recognized, and 44% of them still-open applications, which have been pending for more than ten years [6]. However, this title does not automatically imply the recognition of official land titling, as the example of the "Comunidade Quilombola do Saco Barreiro" shows [20]. The relevance of the land title comes from the fact that through the land title, the area where the Quilombola lives would be officially protected so that no clearing or mining would be allowed. According to title conservation, deforestation has decreased by 66% in areas where legal rights on the land have been granted [21]. However, Para is the only state in Brazil with more titles of Quilombola land than the land-titling processes of Quilombola lands; about a third (66 out of 181) of all pronounced Quilombola land titles fall on Para [22]. However, in the registers of CAISAN, the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" area has hardly been recognized as an official Quilombola community - see **Figure 2** [23]. Although the recognition of land in Para is generally relatively high, based on the data of CAISAN, for this document, we assumed that the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" have

It should be noted that even villages that have been granted the land continue to struggle for it, and their livelihood is still threatened. No one, except the government, can dispute the land after receiving the land title [17]. In this sense, Bolsonaros' administration plans to dispute these lands to introduce mining and agriculture in protected areas [21], as well as the legalization of deforestation in the Amazon. However, Bolsonaros' administration is not the first to adopt and to implement this approach. Previously, President Michel Temer abolished the Renca Reserve, which lies on the border between Amapa and Para [24]. The consequences of such systemic clearance of land by deforestation were defined by Mauricio Voivodic (executive director of WWF-Brazil) as irreversibly damaging local cultures, and it would also "… lead to an intensification of land conflicts and threats to indigenous peoples and traditional populations" [24]. Within this context of conflict between the communities protecting their land and the political and criminal interests who want to make the most lucrative use of the land and its resources in the short-term, gun violence would not deter economic interests. On the contrary, as reported by the nut collector Antonio Marcos de Lima: tractors, chainsaws, and gunfire now dominate a once quiet and peaceful jungle [25]. There has been a steady increase in direct violence against

Bolsonaros' administration policy is to use the rainforest area to expand industrial agriculture developments, incentivizing the deforestation – legal and illegal – of the

neither the official recognition as Quilombola or a land title.

*Quilombola communities certified by municipalities (modified from [23]).*

the villages and their inhabitants in the recent past [26].

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93976*

**Figure 2.**

*Quilombo Communities and Opportunities for Market-Driven Mechanisms for the Protection… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93976*

**Figure 2.**

*Ecosystem and Biodiversity of Amazonia*

**Figure 1.**

the middle of the Trombetas River (**Figure 1**).

*Quilombo of "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" (modified from [1, 14]).*

socio-economic inclusion and forest production.

tions, with limited access to sanitation [18].

**2. The Quilombola context**

In this colonization process, African slaves revealed and emancipated, escaping their captors and moving from the plantations to forest areas of difficult access, funding free autonomous colonies/communities (Quilombos, inhabited by Quilombolas), in a process that lasted until the abolition of slavery in 1888 [7, 10–12]. Consequently, many villages are located along the Upper Trombetas, Erepecuru, and Cumina Rivers [13], at the north of Santarem. To consolidate the description of the numerous Quilombos in the region, in this document, we will present an archetypic - fictional - Quilombo named "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" located in

*Location of the district of Santarem – where many Quilombolas are located, and ubication of the archetypical* 

Due to their location and the nature of their social organization, these communities developed productive activities that did not demand large areas of terrain, with positive side effects for preserving the forest, as its integrity was key for the protection of the community. Also, their use and commercialization of local products is favored by good levels of (bio)diversity, which provides a diverse range of products. In this context, ironically, the discrimination towards these communities – and consequently, their limited access to technology – impose constrains to the level of transformation of their products. Consequently, their offer to the market is composed of natural products that can fit within the categories or organic or rainforest friendly, being Honey one of those with high potential for their

From their origins, the Quilombola founded various smaller villages as it made it more difficult for the government troops to find them, making the Quilombola more flexible and mobile as they could quickly relocate individual villages if they were in danger [10]. The National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform has figures from Quilombola communes regarding the number of large families and hectares used. In these figures, it is noticeable that almost the same number of families in Belem and Santarem are listed, but Belem's area is less than 10% of Santarem's area. Within this context, the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" composed of 70 families, would have as much land as the municipalities in Santarem, occupying 4177 ha [15]. A large part of this Quilombo can hardly afford to eat and therefore live in deplorable conditions [16]. Some houses of the Quilombo have been built provisionally from mud and bamboo [17]. Also, the village partly shows problematic sanitary condi-

In terms of land, the Quilombola community "Barro Vermelho" illustrates these communities' general situation when only after a long struggle, they received the official status as Quilombola land [19]. The recognition of the Quilombola land is

**220**

*Quilombola communities certified by municipalities (modified from [23]).*

sometimes a very long process. Only 9.4% of the applications were recognized, and 44% of them still-open applications, which have been pending for more than ten years [6]. However, this title does not automatically imply the recognition of official land titling, as the example of the "Comunidade Quilombola do Saco Barreiro" shows [20]. The relevance of the land title comes from the fact that through the land title, the area where the Quilombola lives would be officially protected so that no clearing or mining would be allowed. According to title conservation, deforestation has decreased by 66% in areas where legal rights on the land have been granted [21]. However, Para is the only state in Brazil with more titles of Quilombola land than the land-titling processes of Quilombola lands; about a third (66 out of 181) of all pronounced Quilombola land titles fall on Para [22]. However, in the registers of CAISAN, the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" area has hardly been recognized as an official Quilombola community - see **Figure 2** [23]. Although the recognition of land in Para is generally relatively high, based on the data of CAISAN, for this document, we assumed that the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" have neither the official recognition as Quilombola or a land title.

It should be noted that even villages that have been granted the land continue to struggle for it, and their livelihood is still threatened. No one, except the government, can dispute the land after receiving the land title [17]. In this sense, Bolsonaros' administration plans to dispute these lands to introduce mining and agriculture in protected areas [21], as well as the legalization of deforestation in the Amazon. However, Bolsonaros' administration is not the first to adopt and to implement this approach. Previously, President Michel Temer abolished the Renca Reserve, which lies on the border between Amapa and Para [24]. The consequences of such systemic clearance of land by deforestation were defined by Mauricio Voivodic (executive director of WWF-Brazil) as irreversibly damaging local cultures, and it would also "… lead to an intensification of land conflicts and threats to indigenous peoples and traditional populations" [24]. Within this context of conflict between the communities protecting their land and the political and criminal interests who want to make the most lucrative use of the land and its resources in the short-term, gun violence would not deter economic interests. On the contrary, as reported by the nut collector Antonio Marcos de Lima: tractors, chainsaws, and gunfire now dominate a once quiet and peaceful jungle [25]. There has been a steady increase in direct violence against the villages and their inhabitants in the recent past [26].

#### **3. Current situation**

Bolsonaros' administration policy is to use the rainforest area to expand industrial agriculture developments, incentivizing the deforestation – legal and illegal – of the

Amazon [27]. In this context, and adding the historical process of displacement from their lands and neglection from state protection and recognition, the traditionally living people who claim their land [22] are a thorn in the side. This policy was first illustrated in Bolsonaro's election campaign in which he spoke out for the possession of weapons and against the lands claiming of the Indigenous and Quilombola [25, 28]. Bolsonaro said, "You can be sure that there will not be money for NGOs if I get there (Presidency of the Republic). If it is up to me, every citizen will have a firearm. There will not be a centimeter marked for an Indigenous reservation or a Quilombola." [29].

After winning the presidential election, Bolsonaro's policy focused on shortterm profit maximization. To this end, the policy uses the high yield of rainforest land without regard to the long-term consequences for the environment and people [30]. Concerning as it is, Bolsonaros' administration continued to pursue this goal weakening the support of Indigenous and Quilombola. Accordingly, the Brazilian office FUNAI, which protects primarily the Indigenous and supports the Quilombola, has had its funds cut. Its management changed several times and was moved under the Ministry of Agriculture administration, which in line with governmental direction, has no interest in protecting the territories of traditional peoples living in the rainforest [31, 32]. Bolsonaro also tried with the appointment of Ricardo Lopes Dias (an evangelical missionary who has set himself the goal of evangelizing everyone, including the Indigenous and Quilombola) as head of FUNAI in February 2020, to weaken the social organization of Indigenous and Quilombola communities. However, in May 2020, the court ruled that the appointment of Lopes Dias was illegal because the judges have seen an apparent conflict of interest between Lopes Dias's believes and the mission of FUNAI. Consequently, Lopes Dias was dismissed with immediate effect [11]. Furthermore, as registered by Sarah Shenker (from Survival International): "It was an essential part of Bolsonaro's explicit policy to destroy the country's Indigenous peoples - to dissolve the teams protecting their territories and sell their land to loggers, miners, and ranchers." [11].

Russau describes Brazilian Indigenous/Quilombola politics as submissive assistentialist welfare state thinking and explicit paternalism, further saying that the current situation of the Brazilian Quilombola can be summarized as poverty, dependence, and exclusion [33]. These affirmations ignore - particularly for the Quilombolas – their long history as emancipated communities and their development of autonomous governance and social structures that made them self-sufficient communities. Since colonial times, they have been prosecuted, neglected, and systematically excluded from socio-economic development, and yet, able to coordinate their activities, survive and preserve their identity, culture, and traditions.

### **4. Quilombola production and logistics**

Many Quilombola living in rural areas work on collectively-owned land with natural resources [7]. Within this form of productive organization, some Quilombos produce traditional jewelry and sell the surplus of their agricultural production to third parties [18, 34]. Their offer is mostly composed of Cassava (*Manihot esculenta*) – and domestically processed from it, farinha; raw fruits like Acai (*Euterpe oleracea*), Cupuassu (*Theobroma grandiflorum*), Nuts (*Bertholletia excelsa*); Honey, and other seasonal Amazon fruits. The product in many Quilombolas that is less dependent on the tenure of the land and seasonal changes and more suitable to the communities' sporadic mobility is Honey. Despite the popularity of products as Acai in the local (and now in the international) market, and Brazil Nuts that demand intense labor to collect, peel and prepare to present to the end consumer.

**223**

*Quilombo Communities and Opportunities for Market-Driven Mechanisms for the Protection…*

Honey production requires little labor and maintenance, low technology for the production and processing - adding value - of the final product, and can be delivered almost directly to the end consumer without processing, making it less susceptible to intermediaries' occurrence. Opposite to Acai, that needs treatment/ processing to add value to the product, and refrigeration once processed. Also, due to the Acai's fragility and the lack of the communities' logistic resources, the product makes them more susceptible to depend on intermediaries to deliver to the market. It also demands a long-term settlement to develop the crop – hence, stability and clear rights on the land, if investment in adding value technologies is required. The case of Brazil Nuts demands a considerable extension of territory to provide commercial volumes of raw product, being a disadvantage, the intensive

Concerning Honey production, mostly the two native bee species Melipona flavoneata and Melipona fasciculate, are used in Para for Honey production, as well as Apis mellifera [35], which is one of the most frequently used Honeybees worldwide. Of these, Melipona fasciculate has been identified as the best adapted and most productive in the Amazon context, standing out, among the native bees, for Honey production [36]. The native stingless bees are also highly adapted to "… the different soils, geographical location, good climatic conditions and the large diversity of plants and, in particular, flowering plants" [35], p. 1136. With these references, we can assume that the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" use Melipona fasciculate for Honey production. Within this context, the Quilombola are partly dependent on selling their products in the nearest town or even directly in Belem, traveling by boat on a journey that can last several hours. For instance, for the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas," Porto Trombetas is the nearest town, covering a distance of about 300 km on the Trombetas River, on a trip that can last up to 8.5 hours. Considering this logistic challenge and the characteristics summarized for the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas," the community cannot afford a small fleet of boats to mobilize large amounts of products and keep fishing or other subsistence activities. Thus, they sell a significant part of their production to intermediaries; and trade directly in the city products that demand less labor, have more added or perceived value per unit of volume, and do not require refrigeration or any special treatment (e.g., Honey). These facts lead to the assumption that the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" have experience in selling to the middleman, limited experience in direct sales in the city. Therefore, their trading know-how is limited to local trade without the administrative or logistical experi-

As a counter-example, the "Itunuvico" historical development is presented. The "Itunuvico" started producing Honey in 2006 with nine people, and in thirteen years, they have grown to 180 small producers in Oaxaca-Mexico. The "Itunuvico" exported about 600 tons of organic Honey to Germany in 2018. The Mexican community further reports that they had their Honey certified organic through "Naturland," which has significantly increased yield. However, such certification is very costly [37]. This case also suggests developing skills in international trade and logistics - via partnerships with international ONGs, and the existence of logistics that facilitate the consolidation of production and its preparation for international distribution. Without a reliable census in the region, due to the convenient size of the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas," it is safe to assume that the community has around seven small producers. Each producer consists of the union of two families. About 20% of the population of the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" are trained in beekeeping. A total of 3 tons of Honey can be sold per year. This figure assumes that "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" uses part of the Honey for own consumption, and they are not yet as efficient as the "Itunuvico"; as the "Itunuvico" can fall back on many years of experience, and have a different logistic context for the commercialization of their

labor required to peel the Nut, and prepare it for the final consumer.

ence for regional, national, or international trade.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93976*

#### *Quilombo Communities and Opportunities for Market-Driven Mechanisms for the Protection… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93976*

Honey production requires little labor and maintenance, low technology for the production and processing - adding value - of the final product, and can be delivered almost directly to the end consumer without processing, making it less susceptible to intermediaries' occurrence. Opposite to Acai, that needs treatment/ processing to add value to the product, and refrigeration once processed. Also, due to the Acai's fragility and the lack of the communities' logistic resources, the product makes them more susceptible to depend on intermediaries to deliver to the market. It also demands a long-term settlement to develop the crop – hence, stability and clear rights on the land, if investment in adding value technologies is required. The case of Brazil Nuts demands a considerable extension of territory to provide commercial volumes of raw product, being a disadvantage, the intensive labor required to peel the Nut, and prepare it for the final consumer.

Concerning Honey production, mostly the two native bee species Melipona flavoneata and Melipona fasciculate, are used in Para for Honey production, as well as Apis mellifera [35], which is one of the most frequently used Honeybees worldwide. Of these, Melipona fasciculate has been identified as the best adapted and most productive in the Amazon context, standing out, among the native bees, for Honey production [36]. The native stingless bees are also highly adapted to "… the different soils, geographical location, good climatic conditions and the large diversity of plants and, in particular, flowering plants" [35], p. 1136. With these references, we can assume that the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" use Melipona fasciculate for Honey production.

Within this context, the Quilombola are partly dependent on selling their products in the nearest town or even directly in Belem, traveling by boat on a journey that can last several hours. For instance, for the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas," Porto Trombetas is the nearest town, covering a distance of about 300 km on the Trombetas River, on a trip that can last up to 8.5 hours. Considering this logistic challenge and the characteristics summarized for the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas," the community cannot afford a small fleet of boats to mobilize large amounts of products and keep fishing or other subsistence activities. Thus, they sell a significant part of their production to intermediaries; and trade directly in the city products that demand less labor, have more added or perceived value per unit of volume, and do not require refrigeration or any special treatment (e.g., Honey). These facts lead to the assumption that the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" have experience in selling to the middleman, limited experience in direct sales in the city. Therefore, their trading know-how is limited to local trade without the administrative or logistical experience for regional, national, or international trade.

As a counter-example, the "Itunuvico" historical development is presented. The "Itunuvico" started producing Honey in 2006 with nine people, and in thirteen years, they have grown to 180 small producers in Oaxaca-Mexico. The "Itunuvico" exported about 600 tons of organic Honey to Germany in 2018. The Mexican community further reports that they had their Honey certified organic through "Naturland," which has significantly increased yield. However, such certification is very costly [37]. This case also suggests developing skills in international trade and logistics - via partnerships with international ONGs, and the existence of logistics that facilitate the consolidation of production and its preparation for international distribution.

Without a reliable census in the region, due to the convenient size of the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas," it is safe to assume that the community has around seven small producers. Each producer consists of the union of two families. About 20% of the population of the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" are trained in beekeeping. A total of 3 tons of Honey can be sold per year. This figure assumes that "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" uses part of the Honey for own consumption, and they are not yet as efficient as the "Itunuvico"; as the "Itunuvico" can fall back on many years of experience, and have a different logistic context for the commercialization of their

*Ecosystem and Biodiversity of Amazonia*

**4. Quilombola production and logistics**

Many Quilombola living in rural areas work on collectively-owned land with natural resources [7]. Within this form of productive organization, some Quilombos produce traditional jewelry and sell the surplus of their agricultural production to third parties [18, 34]. Their offer is mostly composed of Cassava (*Manihot esculenta*) – and domestically processed from it, farinha; raw fruits like Acai (*Euterpe oleracea*), Cupuassu (*Theobroma grandiflorum*), Nuts (*Bertholletia excelsa*); Honey, and other seasonal Amazon fruits. The product in many

Quilombolas that is less dependent on the tenure of the land and seasonal changes and more suitable to the communities' sporadic mobility is Honey. Despite the popularity of products as Acai in the local (and now in the international) market, and Brazil Nuts that demand intense labor to collect, peel and prepare to present to

Amazon [27]. In this context, and adding the historical process of displacement from their lands and neglection from state protection and recognition, the traditionally living people who claim their land [22] are a thorn in the side. This policy was first illustrated in Bolsonaro's election campaign in which he spoke out for the possession of weapons and against the lands claiming of the Indigenous and Quilombola [25, 28]. Bolsonaro said, "You can be sure that there will not be money for NGOs if I get there (Presidency of the Republic). If it is up to me, every citizen will have a firearm. There will not be a centimeter marked for an Indigenous reservation or a Quilombola." [29]. After winning the presidential election, Bolsonaro's policy focused on shortterm profit maximization. To this end, the policy uses the high yield of rainforest land without regard to the long-term consequences for the environment and people [30]. Concerning as it is, Bolsonaros' administration continued to pursue this goal weakening the support of Indigenous and Quilombola. Accordingly, the Brazilian office FUNAI, which protects primarily the Indigenous and supports the Quilombola, has had its funds cut. Its management changed several times and was moved under the Ministry of Agriculture administration, which in line with governmental direction, has no interest in protecting the territories of traditional peoples living in the rainforest [31, 32]. Bolsonaro also tried with the appointment of Ricardo Lopes Dias (an evangelical missionary who has set himself the goal of evangelizing everyone, including the Indigenous and Quilombola) as head of FUNAI in February 2020, to weaken the social organization of Indigenous and Quilombola communities. However, in May 2020, the court ruled that the appointment of Lopes Dias was illegal because the judges have seen an apparent conflict of interest between Lopes Dias's believes and the mission of FUNAI. Consequently, Lopes Dias was dismissed with immediate effect [11]. Furthermore, as registered by Sarah Shenker (from Survival International): "It was an essential part of Bolsonaro's explicit policy to destroy the country's Indigenous peoples - to dissolve the teams protecting their territories and sell their land to loggers, miners, and ranchers." [11]. Russau describes Brazilian Indigenous/Quilombola politics as submissive assistentialist welfare state thinking and explicit paternalism, further saying that the current situation of the Brazilian Quilombola can be summarized as poverty, dependence, and exclusion [33]. These affirmations ignore - particularly for the Quilombolas – their long history as emancipated communities and their development of autonomous governance and social structures that made them self-sufficient communities. Since colonial times, they have been prosecuted, neglected, and systematically excluded from socio-economic development, and yet, able to coordinate their activities, survive and preserve their identity, culture, and traditions.

**222**

the end consumer.

**Figure 3.** *Wildfire in Para, August 2019. Each red dot represents a fire (modified from [43]).*

production. Considering the production context, we can assume that the Honey from the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" would satisfy the certification criteria for fair trade, rainforest friendly, and organic, but such certifications do not exist.

However, there is a danger that Honey production is unsteady, and even the bees are endangered. From December 2018 to February 2019, high bee mortality (about 500 million) became known, especially in the south and adjacent regions of the southeast and central west of Brazil [38, 39]. Fast-tracked approval of almost 300 pesticides, together with the acceleration of the green frontier's expansion, might cause high bee mortality [39]. Particularly when known, these pesticides were already banned in other countries for their toxic effect on bees - among other effects on other species. In contrast, the counter-case of "Itunuvico" demonstrates that they do not have any problems with bee mortality due to strict organic certification regulations. This normative control restricts the boundaries and growth of the expansion of commercial crops, based on the trade-off that Honey production brings to the planning of the local rural economic development [37]. Adding to the threats to Honey production in the region, dos Santos and de Oliveira have found that temperatures in Para have risen in recent years and see the change in the natural landscape as the cause for the increased temperatures [40]. Clearing of the rainforests will increase the dry seasons [41], which harms the flora and, therefore, impacts the Honey production negatively [19].

Looking at the vast wildfires at the end of August 2019, although Para was severely affected, the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas" area was not under risk (**Figure 3**). An early assessment of the impact of these recent changes in the region determined that weather conditions have become more extreme, which leads to the assumption that this trend has further increased in recent years [42]. Consequently, the wildfires do not directly threaten the "Aldeia-Das-Abelhas," but that they are already slightly affected by the extent of the rising temperatures and the resulting prolongation of the drought periods. In turn, they are being at risk of not being able to increase or maintain their Honey production.
