Beyond the Superfood: An overview of the environmental sustainability of açaí (Euterpe oleracea) cultivation across the management spectrum on the floodplains of Pará

Abstract

This paper outlines an overview of the current state of the environmental sustainability of açaí (Euterpe oleracea) cultivation on the Amazon floodplains in the state of Pará, Brazil. Currently under the threat of becoming a global resource frontier, Pará shows an increasing expansion of areas with unsustainable land use practices such as cattle ranching and soy cultivation, being the main drivers of deforestation. Due to the increased international demand for this recently coined superfood, cultivation of açaí has increased. Along with this increase, a shift from traditionally extractivist harvest towards more intensive management and monoculture cultivation of the fruit is currently observed. This paper addresses two central questions, first assessing to what extent current açaí cultivation is sustainable on the floodplains. Secondly, evaluating the potential role of certification as a tool for sustainable development of the sector. This paper uses a combination of literature research, database searches and semi-structured stakeholder interviews, and structured outputs along the most prominent environmental sustainability themes of the Sustainable Intensification Metrics Framework (SIMeF). Key findings show a variety in sustainability impacts across the currently existing management spectrum. Ranging from positive ecological impacts in extractivism to negative impacts of monocultures, driving deforestation rates over time and weakening ecosystem functioning and climate resilience. The agroforests, representing the intermediate on the management spectrum, present a gradient themselves, including high- and low- intensity agroforests, of which the latter emerge as a sustainable cultivation method while the prior poses significant ecological risks such as impacts on biodiversity and increased emission levels. Gaps in the current research landscape critical to overcome regard traceability and distributions of management intensities within the industry. Beyond policy, certification could emerge as a tool to overcome some of the sustainability challenges, though context- and species-specific redefinition of their requirements ought to take place.