Urban foraging in Brazilian public greenspaces

Area of Science:

• Urban Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Ethnobotany

Background:

• Urban foraging, the collection of wild edible plants in cities, enhances nature connection.
• Integrating urban foraging into planning may support urban biodiversity conservation.
• Understanding foraging motivations, barriers, and regulatory impacts, especially in biodiversity hotspots, is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore urban foraging practices in Recife, Brazil, considering social, spatial, and regulatory factors.
• To investigate the interplay between motivations for and barriers to urban foraging.
• To assess the influence of legislation on urban foraging and its impact on biodiversity.

Main Methods:

• An online questionnaire was used to gather data on urban foraging practices.
• A policy review was conducted to understand the regulatory landscape.
• The study integrated social, spatial, and regulatory dimensions of foraging.

Main Results:

• Most non-foragers expressed willingness to forage if pollution risks were mitigated and knowledge enhanced.
• Active foragers collected up to 31 plant species, with no threatened species identified.
• Legislation had minimal influence on foraging locations, and foraging showed little negative impact on biodiversity.

Conclusions:

• Local context is crucial for developing effective foraging incentives.
• Urban foraging can be integrated into legislation and greenspace management.
• Foraging can help mitigate biodiversity loss and increase urban residents' connection with nature in expanding urban areas.