ABSTRACT Documenting the ethnobotanical knowledge of populations living in protected areas is important both for science and for the effective conservation of these areas, as it can help to clarify the level of dependency that human communities have on local plant resources. Babassu (Attalea speciosa, Arecaceae) is one of the most important non-timber forest resources of rural communities in the Amazon. We explored the ethnobotanical knowledge and uses of babassu by riverine populations inhabiting the Tucuruí Lake Protected Areas Mosaic in the eastern Amazon, by examining the diversity, purposes and descriptions of its uses and aspects of its extraction. Data were collected in 2010 and 2014 from 193 families. A total of 1,226 use records were cited representing 60 different uses. Records were classified into nine use-categories; utensils and tools was the most important category, followed by construction and human food. The use with the greatest purpose consensus value among the informants was thatch. Babassu proved to be an important resource for the livelihood of the local communities in providing shelter, food and reliable energy. Most informants lacked knowledge about sustainable practices and management of this resource.

O babaçu (A. speciosa) é uma das espécies que se destacam na subsistência de diversos povos e populações tradicionais que habitam o cerrado, região que ocupa aproximadamente 24% do território brasileiro. Neste estudo, efetuado entre o povo indígena Kayapó, foi feito um levantamento sobre os usos do babaçu na aldeia Las Casas, na Terra Indígena Las Casas, a qual está localizada dentro dos municípios de Pau D´Arco, Floresta do Araguaia e Redenção, no estado do Pará. Os dados foram obtidos através de entrevistas semi-estruturadas com 25 interlocutores e a importância deste recurso para os Kayapó foi analisada com base nos tipos de usos mencionados, calculando o índice de diversidade de uso entre os indígenas. Os informantes reconheceram duas etnoespécies como babaçu, A. speciosa (rõn tire) e A. eichleri (rõn ne) com aproximadamente dez usos em cinco categorias: alimentação, construção, cosmético, doméstico e ritual. Os resultados obtidos para o valor de diversidade do informante (IDs) foram de 22,89 para A. speciosa e 10, 35 para A. eichleri. Estes valores demonstram que os informantes possuem menor dependência dos recursos oferecidos por A. eichleri, quando comparada aos oferecidos por A. speciosa, e ainda que os valores entre as duas espécies sejam discrepantes, a importância delas está relacionada principalmente ao aproveitamento da amêndoa para a produção de óleo para usos rituais e cosméticos.

The babassu palm (A. speciosa) is a species that stands out in the economy and livelihood of the people who live in the Cerrado biome, which is approximately 24% of Brazilian territory. A survey on the use and knowledge of babassu was carried out in the village of Las Casas, in Las Casas Indigenous Land. This village is located in the municipalities of Pau D'Arco, Floresta do Araguaia and Redenção. The importance of babassu for the community was analyzed by taking into account the types of uses registered and their management. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews (25 people), and the index of diversity of use among interviewees (IDs) was calculated. Informants recognized two babassu species, A. speciosa (rôn tire) and A. eichleri (rôn ne) with diverse applications classified in five categories: food, construction, cosmetics, domestic and ritual. The IDs values obtained were 22.89 for A. speciosa and 10.35 for A. eichleri. These figures show that the respondents have a lower dependence on the features offered by A. eichleri when compared to A. speciosa and although the values of the two species are divergent, their importance for the community is mainly related to using the nut oil for cosmetics and in rituals.