Lessons from a socioenvironmental conflict: Why banning traditional practices threatens fire‐prone plant conservation in tropical savannas

Abstract Understanding the demographic consequences of harvesting non‐timber forest products (NTFPs) is essential for developing inclusive conservation strategies that balance sustainability with local livelihoods. We assessed the population dynamics of Comanthera elegans , an endangered and endemic species from Brazil's Cerrado biome, traditionally managed through inflorescence harvesting and fire by the Apanhadores de Flores Sempre‐Vivas (AFSV). These practices, despite their traditional ecological basis, have been criminalized under national conservation policy. Between 2017 and 2019, we monitored 19,273 individuals across 120 permanent 1 × 1 m plots under six treatments combining fire and harvest timing. We applied integral projection models (IPMs) over two‐time intervals to estimate population growth rates ( λ ), elasticity and life table response experiments (LTREs), followed by 20‐year projections under each treatment. Our results demonstrate that traditional practices, especially fire use and late harvest, consistently support positive population growth ( λ up to 1.87), while control and early harvest scenarios showed demographic stagnation or decline. Elasticity and LTRE analyses revealed that the survival and growth of larger individuals are the primary drivers of λ variation. Synthesis and applications . This study illustrates how evidence‐based traditional management can enhance long‐term population viability. As conservation efforts worldwide increasingly prioritize equity, participation and effectiveness, this case provides globally relevant insights into the risks of excluding local knowledge from policy design. We advocate for adaptive governance models that incorporate traditional ecological knowledge, participatory decision‐making, and the co‐creation of fire and harvest management protocols. The findings contribute to a growing international call to integrate culturally grounded practices into biodiversity conservation, especially in fire‐prone ecosystems and socioecologically complex landscapes.