1.D. de Lacerda . B. Kjerfve
In Brazil, deposits of shells and fish bones from mangroves species were accumulated in coastal mounds by nomad populations of fisherman and collectors from 3500
to 2000 years B.P.
In Peru, the Tumbes region played an important role in pre-Columbian America,
when a large coastal population dedicated to agriculture, fishing, and commerce, formed
the Tumpis Culture. These people were the best navigators of the Peruvian coast. They
developed to a high degree the art of carving mangrove bivalves, Spondius sp.,
Ostraea sp. and Anadara grandis. To the Spondius shell, known to the Andeans as Mullu,
they attributed magical powers, and after carving zoomorph or phytomorph figures,
they were offered in religious rituals. This is one of the first records of mangrove uses
in Peru (Echevarria and Sarabia 1993).
During the colonization in Middle and South America, Indian opposition
leaq to the near extinction of native populations along the coast of the entire continent. By the time of the European conquer, mangroves represented such a nuisance
to troops and horses that Cristobal de Molina in 1552, described the mangroves in
Peru as the "most difficult land of these kingdoms". However, this did not hamper
the discovery of the quality of mangrove timber for construction, and the exploitation was soon started, mostly for poles and construction of boats, and later for
tannin. Since the 16th century, mangrove timber was exported from Colombia to
Peru and reached 6000 poles a year in the 17th century. In 1677, for instance, thousands of mangrove poles were exported to Cuba from the Pacific coast of Colombia
(von Prahl et al. 1990). Bark commerce was also profitable. Ecuador, for example,
exported nearly 600 t of bark per year to neighbouring countries from 1879 to 1906
(Bodero 1993).
During the colonial period, the commerce in mangrove products was so important that the colonial authorities produced specific legislation to protect and manage
the use of the resource. In 1760, the King of Portugal and Brazil, D. Jose, issued one
of the first, if not the very first law to protect and adequately manage mangrove
resources in Brazil. The law determined specific penalties to be applied to people
who cut the trees that had not been previously debarked. This is an example of environmentally sound lobbying by leather merchants, who wanted to guarantee abundant high quality material for their tanneries. In fact, as early as the 17th century, the
Portuguese made methodical studies of the properties of the tannin of the bark of different species of Rhizophora, Avicennia, Soneratia, and Xylocarpus from many places
in South India, Molucca and Sri Lanka. These studies enabled them to select the best
sources of raw materials for their tanneries. The interest in Brazilian mangroves arouse
only after the Portuguese supremacy in Asia was on a downward trend, as the bark
mangrove species bordering the Atlantic Ocean was recognized as producing tannin
of lesser quality.
Resources derived from mangroves have been utilized from pre-Colombian
times to the present. Currently, some mangrove forest products are widely utilized
in rural construction, also as sticks in horticultural crops, and they are still used for
the extraction of tannin. However, only recently have mangrove wetlands been considered as an ecosystem. This change in evaluating mangroves has in many cases been
due to the negative experiences in attempting to manage mangrove resources separately.
In Brazil, deposits of shells and fish bones from mangroves species were accumulated in coastal mounds by nomad populations of fisherman and collectors from 3500
to 2000 years B.P.
In Peru, the Tumbes region played an important role in pre-Columbian America,
when a large coastal population dedicated to agriculture, fishing, and commerce, formed
the Tumpis Culture. These people were the best navigators of the Peruvian coast. They
developed to a high degree the art of carving mangrove bivalves, Spondius sp.,
Ostraea sp. and Anadara grandis. To the Spondius shell, known to the Andeans as Mullu,
they attributed magical powers, and after carving zoomorph or phytomorph figures,
they were offered in religious rituals. This is one of the first records of mangrove uses
in Peru (Echevarria and Sarabia 1993).
During the colonization in Middle and South America, Indian opposition
leaq to the near extinction of native populations along the coast of the entire continent. By the time of the European conquer, mangroves represented such a nuisance
to troops and horses that Cristobal de Molina in 1552, described the mangroves in
Peru as the "most difficult land of these kingdoms". However, this did not hamper
the discovery of the quality of mangrove timber for construction, and the exploitation was soon started, mostly for poles and construction of boats, and later for
tannin. Since the 16th century, mangrove timber was exported from Colombia to
Peru and reached 6000 poles a year in the 17th century. In 1677, for instance, thousands of mangrove poles were exported to Cuba from the Pacific coast of Colombia
(von Prahl et al. 1990). Bark commerce was also profitable. Ecuador, for example,
exported nearly 600 t of bark per year to neighbouring countries from 1879 to 1906
(Bodero 1993).
During the colonial period, the commerce in mangrove products was so important that the colonial authorities produced specific legislation to protect and manage
the use of the resource. In 1760, the King of Portugal and Brazil, D. Jose, issued one
of the first, if not the very first law to protect and adequately manage mangrove
resources in Brazil. The law determined specific penalties to be applied to people
who cut the trees that had not been previously debarked. This is an example of environmentally sound lobbying by leather merchants, who wanted to guarantee abundant high quality material for their tanneries. In fact, as early as the 17th century, the
Portuguese made methodical studies of the properties of the tannin of the bark of different species of Rhizophora, Avicennia, Soneratia, and Xylocarpus from many places
in South India, Molucca and Sri Lanka. These studies enabled them to select the best
sources of raw materials for their tanneries. The interest in Brazilian mangroves arouse
only after the Portuguese supremacy in Asia was on a downward trend, as the bark
mangrove species bordering the Atlantic Ocean was recognized as producing tannin
of lesser quality.
Resources derived from mangroves have been utilized from pre-Colombian
times to the present. Currently, some mangrove forest products are widely utilized
in rural construction, also as sticks in horticultural crops, and they are still used for
the extraction of tannin. However, only recently have mangrove wetlands been considered as an ecosystem. This change in evaluating mangroves has in many cases been
due to the negative experiences in attempting to manage mangrove resources separately.