Species Use Database

Brazil-nut
Bertholletia excelsa

Used for Food and feed in Bolivia, Plurinational States of

A. Species

Scientific name: Bertholletia excelsa

Common name(s): Brazil-nut

Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Vulnerable


B. Location of use

Geographic location(s):

  • Bolivia, Plurinational States of

Country/Region: Bolivia


C. Scale of assessment

Scale of assessment: Regional/Continental/Multi-country level

Name/Details of location: Bolivian Amazon Basin


D. Timescale of use

Start Year: 2008

End Year: 2009


E. Information about the use

How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat

Type of use: Extractive

Practice of use: Gathering/Cutting/Collecting terrestrial plants and fungi or their products from the wild

Lethal or non-lethal: Non-Lethal

Does this use involve take/extraction of: Only parts or products of the organism

Purpose(s) of end use: Food and feed

Motivation of use: Basic subsistence, Income generation from trade (individual/household/community) and Largescale commercial exploitation for trade

Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law


F. Information about the Users

Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people, National / local government and National / local private sector


G. Information about the sustainability of use

Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable

Details of assessment carried out: Data presented in this study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Brazil nut trees and forests suitable for the species are being protected by local communities to preserve their income stream against more destructive livelihood strategies such as livestock farming.

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable

Details of assessment carried out: This study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Economically valuable and sustainable crop, locally.

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable

Details of assessment carried out: This study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Important local livelihood, less destructive than livestock farming. * Livelihood strategies concur with certain household characteristics that reflect livelihood asset endowments, like household members' skills or engagement in social networks. These household characteristics explain the adoption of livelihood strategies. This paper evidences that natural assets are linked to other assets endowments, a finding that is highly relevant for supporting sustainable livelihoods in communities.

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Details of assessment carried out: This study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Not recorded

Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded

Details of assessment carried out: This study

Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Not recorded


Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species

* To improve forest livelihoods it is important to understand what factors influence the income derived from forests. Development efforts that aim to improve forest product incomes in rural livelihoods need to consider the diversification in livelihood strategies, the contribution of forest products in each of the livelihood strategies, and the sustainable livelihood assets that characterizes a particular livelihood strategy.


Record source

Information about the record source: scientific_pub

Date of publication/issue/production: 2013-01-01T00:00:00+0000

Source Reference(s):

Zenteno, M., Zuidema, P. A., de Jong, W., & Boot, R. G. (2013). Livelihood strategies and forest dependence: New insights from Bolivian forest communities. Forest Policy and Economics, 26, 12-21.

Date of record entry: 2022-11-24