Ecosystem services and food security: Local perception aligning with demands in the state of Amazonas, Brazil

The Amazon forest is a vital provider of ecosystem services (ES) that support food security in various ways, including through food provision and climate regulation. Despite its rich biodiversity, the region faces striking food insecurity. From an ecosystem-based perspective, this study is primarily based on local perception approach (complemented by secondary data surveys) to capture the interplay between ecological availability and people’s perceptions of nature’s benefits, allowing the identification and assessment of ES related to food security. We examined these perceptions under the hypothesis that communities facing higher levels of food vulnerability would perceive and prioritize food-related ES differently from less vulnerable ones. The study was conducted in three municipalities representing a gradient of food vulnerability – Manaus (medium), Carauari (medium–high), and Tabatinga (very high), and collected data via semi-structured interviews from a total 216 interviewees of the local population. Based on interview citations of nature’s benefits, provisioning services accounted for 59% of all ES mentions. Among the specific services, nineteen ES classes were reported, with Food (from crops and livestock) representing approximately 27% of the total mentions. These populations rely directly on the systems they inhabit, and the perceptions varied according to local demands and food vulnerability levels: as food vulnerability decreases, the diversity of perceived ecosystem benefits expands – moving from immediate, survival-oriented benefits toward broader ecological and cultural values. Our findings suggest that the greater the need for a particular ES, the more its importance was recognized (mentioned). Important food security demands were clarified through this approach, underscoring that conservation strategies that incorporate local ES dynamics are essential to enhance community resilience and food security in the Amazon.