Usar p⁄gs xvii-134 - ResearchGate

Further details on definitions of threat may be obtained from J.P. Rodríguez and F. Rojas-Suárez, Libro Rojo de laFauna Venezolana. 2d ed. (Caracas, Venezuela: Provita, Fundación Polar, 1999), pp. 455-458.Limitations:• The data do not include the use of species found in aquatic ecosystems.• Not all of the bibliographic references included information on the forest ecosystem associated with eachnon-timber forest product.• A discussion on the use of non-timber forest products is often not the primary objective of manypublications. Not all studies are easily accessible, particularly those anthropological studies focusing onindigenous communities. Thus some references with important information may have been left out of thedatabase.• The majority of studies were restricted to areas surrounding local communities and very few studiesprovided information at the statewide level. None of the studies presented integrated information across theGuayana region.• The majority of studies have been conducted in the southern part of the Guayana region: 69% of thereferences reviewed included information on the use of non-timber forest products in Amazonas State, whileonly 15% of the studies encompassed data on non-timber forest product use in Delta Amacuro State.• Floristic inventories in some parts of the Guayana region are incomplete. Many expeditions have focusedon the tepuyes, while collection of botanical material in high diversity lowland forests has been carried outonly sporadically.• Knowledge about fauna of the Guayana region is based primarily on basic qualitative inventories, whichwere conducted in easily accessible areas near rivers. Some information is also available from studiesconducted on tepuyes or isolated mountain ranges. There is no available information regarding theabundance of wildlife populations.• Data on unpublished research projects are incomplete and difficult to access. Research project teams arereluctant to distribute information while data collection is on-going.• Data on medicinal and religious uses of non-timber forest species are only available at a qualitative level,given that intellectual property rights have not been established with respect to the use of these species.• Studies on the distribution, abundance and status of fauna and flora populations in the Guayana region arelacking, especially with respect to those species used by local communities. In addition, few studiesdocument the impact of human activities on wildlife in the Guayana region. This limits the potential forevaluating the impact of extraction on these species.• Only a few recent studies quantify the dependency of local communities on flora and fauna in theGuayana region.• Very little data exist on the trade of wildlife for pets.• There are no data regarding the economic value of Venezuela’s biodiversity, and particularly that ofnon-timber forest resources.96