Mercury exposure in riverine populations of Terra do Meio Extractive Reserves in the Xingu basin, Amazon, Brazil

Amazon is a hotspot for mercury (Hg) contamination and Terra do Meio region, despite its protected status for sustainable use, has never been monitored for this element. Looking to address this gap, this study aimed to quantify capillary Hg concentration in riverine populations of Terra do Meio (Xingu Basin, Central Amazon, Brazil) and associated factors with high Hg levels (90 percentile). Hair samples from 182 individuals from Iriri, Riozinho do Anfrísio and Xingu Extractive Reserves (RESEX), aged between 18 and 70 years old, were collected to measure total mercury levels (HgT), and socioeconomic, demographic, and clinical-epidemiological data were annotated. Overall, high levels of Hg were observed (mean 4.985 µg/g, median 3.531 µg/g) with significant differences between localities. Among the factors related to high capillary Hg levels, male gender, smoking habit, work in agriculture, livestock or extractivism, and residence in Iriri and Riozinho do Anfrísio RESEX were highlighted. A high prevalence of symptoms related to Hg intoxication, including anxiety, memory deficit, and lower limb problems, was observed. Overall, the results reveal that communities in these RESEXs are exposed to Hg and appear to be suffering from chronic health effects. Considering the increased anthropogenic alterations observed recently in the Amazon region and the subsequent amplified environmental bioavailability of Hg, further studies and mitigating actions are critical. This includes better surveillance of illegal anthropic activities and provision of ongoing education on this matter and incentives for dietary adaptations.

Anthropometric indicators in traditional peoples and communities in Brazil: analysis of individual records from the Food and Nutrition Surveillance System, 2019

OBJECTIVE

To describe the prevalence of underweight and obesity indicators among individuals registered as traditional peoples and communities in the Food and Nutrition Surveillance System, across Brazil, in 2019.

METHODS

This was a descriptive study using individual secondary data from participants receiving care in the Primary Health Care within the Brazilian National Health System.

RESULTS

In the study population (N = 13,944), there was a higher prevalence of short stature among male children and adolescents (14.2%), when compared to their female counterparts (11.8%); in the adult female population, there was a higher prevalence of obesity (23.0%), when compared to the male population (11.3%); the prevalence of low height-for-age in riverine communities (18.5%) and obesity in the adult faxinalense population (75.1%) stood out.

CONCLUSION

Anthropometric disparities between different communities require tailored responses, emphasizing targeted primary health care and programs to ensure food and nutrition security.

MAIN RESULTS

It was possible to identify a higher prevalence of low weight and height-for-age in the child population of riverine communities, while faxinalense communities showed a higher prevalence of obesity in adults.

IMPLICATIONS FOR SERVICES

Continuous improvement in the implementation of SISVAN protocols is recommended, as well as strengthening the assistance provided to communities with the worst indicators.

PERSPECTIVES

Studies assessing the potential impact of interventions to mitigate the effects of malnutrition in communities, through in-depth qualitative research or probabilistic quantitative studies using primary data.

'From the sky to the ground': fishers' knowledge, landscape analysis and hydrological data indicate long-term environmental changes in Amazonian clear water rivers

Fishers possess detailed local ecological knowledge (LEK) which can be a valuable resource for tracking long-term environmental changes in less studied tropical rivers. Our goal was to investigate such changes in three clear water rivers in the Brazilian Amazon, focusing on hydrology, water quality and land cover. Additionally, we aimed to compare these changes among three rivers (Trombetas, Tapajós and Tocantins) representing a potential gradient of environmental changes. We interviewed 129 fishers (67 in Tapajós, 33 in Tocantins and 29 in Trombetas), and analyzed temporal series on land cover and hydrology respectively through maps produced by the project MapBiomas, and data from the Brazilian National Water Agency across the last 34 years (from 1985 to 2019). The complementary analyses of these three databases (mapping, hydrological data and fishers' knowledge) revealed environmental changes in the studied rivers. The maps showed a gradient of anthropic changes on land cover, from the less altered Trombetas river, the moderately altered Tapajós and the more intensely changed landscape in the Tocantins River. Fishers from the Tocantins River reported a greater variety of negative changes in water quality related to anthropic actions, such as dams, deforestation, and pollution. Additionally, most fishers indicated hydrological changes making the Tocantins River drier in more recent years, which would cause negative effects on fish populations. In the Tapajós River, fishers mentioned more varied hydrological patterns and negative effects on water quality linked to mining activities, whereas in Trombetas fishers perceived increased floods. The changes mentioned by the interviewed fishers matched observed trends from hydrological data indicating a trend of increasing droughts in the more impacted Tocantins River. Fishers' knowledge provided exclusive 'on the ground' data to track long-term changes on local hydrology and water quality, as well as inform the effects of these changes on fish and fisheries.

Biodiversity is overlooked in the diets of different social groups in Brazil

Food biodiversity is essential for improving nutrition and reducing hunger in populations worldwide. However, in middle and low-income countries, the biodiversity of food production does not necessarily represent food consumption patterns by population. We used Brazil, one of the world's megabiodiverse countries, as a case study to investigate the following questions: what is the prevalence of consumption of biodiverse foods in Brazil, and what are the socioeconomic factors that influence their consumption throughout the country? We used data from a Brazilian representative national dietary survey to estimate the frequency of food consumption of unconventional food plants, edible mushrooms, and wild meat, in according to socioeconomic variables. Thus, we investigated the socioeconomic predictors of Unconventional Food Plants consumption using methods of Machine Learning (ML) and multiple zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) regression. We showed that biodiverse food consumption in Brazil is low, just related by 1.3% of the population, varying in according to area, ethnicity, age, food insecurity, sex, and educational level. Our findings of low utilization of biodiversity suggest an important mismatch between the rich biodiversity of the country and its representation in the human diet.

The consumption of fish by the riverine population of the lower Solimões River, Amazonas, Brazil

The riverine population of the Amazon Basin are among the largest consumers of fish in the world, but the consumption patterns could be regionally distinct. Moreover, their total fish catches are not fully known. The objective of this work was to estimate the per capita fish consumption of the riverine people that inhabit the Paciência Island (Iranduba, Amazonas), where there is a fishing agreement in force. A total of 273 questionnaires were applied during the first two weeks of each month between April 2021 and March 2022. The sample unit was the residences. The questionnaire contained questions about the species captured and their quantities. Consumption was calculated by dividing the average monthly capture with the average number of residents per household interviewed, which was multiplied by the number of questionnaires applied. Thirty groups of consumed fish species belonging to 17 families and 5 orders were recorded. The total catch was 3,388.35 kg and the highest monthly catch was 602.60 kg during the falling-water season in October. Daily per capita fish consumption averaged 66.13 ± 29.21 g/day, with a peak of 116.45 g/day during the falling-water season in August. The high fish consumption rate highlighted the importance of fisheries management to food security and the maintenance of the community's lifestyle.

Shared geographic spatial risk of childhood undernutrition in Malawi: An application of joint spatial component model

Objectives

This study aimed at assessing shared spatial risk of childhood undernutrition indicators in Malawi.

Study design

Cross-sectional design.

Methods

The shared spatial component model was fitted to childhood undernutrition indicators, namely: stunting, wasting and underweight, using 5066 child records of the 2015/16 Malawi demographic health survey data. The spatial components were districts, and were modeled by the convolution prior, with the structured components being assigned the conditional autoregressive distribution.

Results

There is significant clustering of shared spatial risk of stunting and wasting (Moran I = 0.464, p-value = 0.009), and wasting and underweight (Moran I = 0.392, p-value = 0.026), and the risk maps show southern districts, followed by central districts being at greater risk of jointly having stunting and wasting, wasting and underweight, compared to the northern region districts. The shared spatial risk of stunting and underweight is randomly dispersed across the country (Moran I = - 0.044, p-value = 0.539).

Conclusion

Interventions to reduce the shared risk of child undernutrition should focus on the southern region districts and those in the central region, and a suggestion is made to address the issue of overpopulation and effects of climate change.

The sustainable development goals in two sustainable development reserves in central amazon: achievements and challenges

The 2030 Agenda was set in 2015 by the United Nations, with 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The Amazonian riverine people are recognized as traditional communities that have their own culture and use the local natural resources of their territories in an ancestral and traditional way. The Sustainable Development Reserve is a Brazilian protected area category which aims to ensure the protection of the natural environment while allowing the residence and the use of these lands by traditional populations. This article reports and discusses the achievements and challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals in two sustainable development reserves in Central Amazonia. The goals were evaluated in the Mamirauá and Amanã Sustainable Development Reserves, due to the large research programs developed in those areas along the past 20 years. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals have a clear connection with the mission of these sustainable development reserves in Central Amazon. Despite the many achievements conquered over the years, there are many challenges yet to overcome; and while striving to achieve the goals from the 2030 Agenda, new challenges will emerge. The current main challenges to reach the Sustainable Development Goals in the Mamirauá and Amanã Sustainable Development Reserves, in Central Amazon, are connecting to the reality of rural areas.

Adaptive management strategies of local communities in two Amazonian floodplain ecosystems in the face of extreme climate events

In Amazonia, changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme climate events are occurring and expected to intensify, affecting food security with subsequent social and political problems. We conducted semi-structured interviews in communities of the mid-Solimões River basin (Amazonas, Brazil). Our questions were designed to construct seasonal calendars with residents (ribeirinhos) to understand climatic patterns and changes in livelihood activities, how traditional management is affected by extreme floods and droughts, and to identify their adaptation strategies in new climatic contexts. We studied three floodplain (várzea, n = 59 households) and three paleo-floodplain communities, situated 1-3 m higher than the floodplain (paleovárzea, n = 42 households). We show that these local communities have detailed knowledge of climate patterns and changes, and that they recognize that climatic unpredictability hinders effective planning of subsistence activities, because their local knowledge is no longer fully reliable. Extreme climate events have consequences for their farming systems and associated agrobiodiversity, varying according to the degree of exposure of different environments to extreme events. During extreme events ribeirinhos intensify adaptation strategies, such as avoiding stress to fruit-tree root systems, prioritizing plants that survive flooding and working in less affected landscapes. Adaptation practices with long histories tend to occur more often in floodplains, and two adaptation practices were specific to floodplains. The impacts of extreme events on local communities are expected to increase, especially in environments more exposed to floods. Local residents suggest the documentation and sharing of adaptation strategies as a way to increase their resilience.

Urban market amplifies strong species selectivity in Amazonian artisanal fisheries

Abstract Despite Amazonia possessing the highest freshwater biodiversity on Earth, urban landing data show how huge fishing pressure is placed on only a dozen species. However, truly characterising the fishery and understanding the drivers of species selectivity is challenging, given the neglect of artisanal fishing activity, who may catch most of the Amazon’s fish. We register the catch of 824 fishing trips by interviewing artisanal fishers in their rural riverside communities. We use these data to characterise the artisanal fishery of the Rio Purus, the main fish source sub-system for the Amazon’s largest city (Manaus), and investigate the factors determining catch composition. Fishers caught 80 fish species, yet just four species made up over half of the harvested biomass. Urban markets appear to drive greater selectivity, with a significantly lower species diversity in commercial compared to subsistence catches. Fish catch composition varied significantly both seasonally and with geographical remoteness from Manaus. The spatial turnover in catch composition appears to be driven by urban access, with more commercially important species dominating where Manaus-based fish-buyers frequent. Our data may partially explain observed overfishing in some commercially important species, particularly as most Amazonians now live in urban areas.