Risk perceptions and adaptive strategies in sociobiodiversity value chains: a case study with pink pepper tree (Schinus terebinthifolia Raddi) extractivists in Northeastern Brazil

Environmental changes are at the core of scientific discussions and represent imminent risks to numerous productive activities, including the value chains of sociobiodiversity products. In the face of these risks, local populations develop perceptions and adaptive strategies shaped by their sociocultural contexts. In this study, we sought to identify the factors that explain risk perceptions of environmental changes and adaptive strategies within the value chain of the Brazilian pepper tree (Schinus terebinthifolia Raddi.), whose fruits are harvested through extractivism and marketed as pink pepper, in the São Francisco River mouth region, northeastern Brazil. We tested the following hypotheses: H1. Female extractivists, younger individuals, those with higher income, higher education, longer residence, and/or access to more information sources perceive a greater number of risks and implement a higher number of adaptive strategies. H2. Female extractivists, younger individuals, those with higher income, higher education, longer residence, and/or access to more information sources assign greater severity to the most frequently occurring risks. H3. Extractivists with higher participation in associations, prior experience with risks, longer extractivism experience, ownership of collection areas, unrestricted access to collection areas, higher profitability, and/or higher productivity perceive a greater number of risks and adopt more adaptive strategies. H4. Extractivists with higher participation in associations, prior experience with risks, longer extractivism experience, ownership of collection areas, unrestricted access to collection areas, higher profitability, and/or higher productivity assign greater severity to the most frequently occurring risks. Data collection involved a participatory workshop followed by semi-structured interviews with 53 extractivists from 14 different communities in the region. The most frequently cited risk was “excessive rainfall.” We found that younger and more experienced extractivists assigned greater severity to environmental risks, supporting hypotheses 2 and 4. The scarcity of specific strategies to cope with extreme climatic events highlights the urgent need for integrated public policies capable of articulating traditional knowledge, climate justice, and the valorization of extractivist practices.