Redes de política pública: un abordaje para analizar la gobernanza de la Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional / Public policy networks: an approach to analyze the governance of Food and Nutrition Security

Resumen El concepto de gobernanza adquiere cada vez más relevancia en los debates y práctica de la gestión de estrategias políticas de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional (SAN). Sin embargo, su análisis demuestra una complejidad por la influencia de actores locales, regionales, nacionales e internacionales. El enfoque sistémico de la SAN contempla, dentro de otros principios, la participación y la intersectorialidad, tales estrategias parten de una perspectiva multidisciplinaria que no presupone homogeneidad, sino que se conforma de diversos actores y sus distintas formas de relacionamiento multinivel. Para comprenderlo, este artículo propone una ruta teórico-metodológica que consiste en el análisis de actores involucrados en determinada problemática, utilizando las contribuciones del abordaje de las Redes de Política Pública (RPP). Las herramientas analíticas de dicho abordaje ofrecen caminos para delimitar el estudio y definir cómo y quiénes ejercen la gobernanza en la SAN del contexto a estudiar.

Abstract The concept of governance acquires more and more relevance in the debates and practice of the management of political strategies of Food and Nutrition Security (FSN). However, its analysis demonstrates a complexity due to the influence of local, regional, national and international actors. The systemic approach of the FNS contemplates participation and intersectorality, among other principles. Such strategies are based on a multidisciplinary perspective that does not imply homogeneity, but rather consists on diverse actors and their different forms of multilevel relationship. In order to clarify it, this article proposes a theoretical-methodological route that consists on the analysis of actors involved in a given problem using the contributions of the Public Policy Networks (PPN) approach. The analytical tools of this approach offer ways to delimit the study and define the way, as well as who exercises the governance in FSN under the context to be studied.

Traditional botanical knowledge of artisanal fishers in southern Brazil.

BACKGROUND: This study characterized the botanical knowledge of artisanal fishers of the Lami community, Porto Alegre, southern Brazil based on answers to the following question: Is the local botanical knowledge of the artisanal fishers of the rural-urban district of Lami still active, even since the district's insertion into the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre? METHODS: This region, which contains a mosaic of urban and rural areas, hosts the Lami Biological Reserve (LBR) and a community of 13 artisanal fisher families. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 fishers, complemented by participatory observation techniques and free-lists; in these interviews, the species of plants used by the community and their indicated uses were identified. RESULTS: A total of 111 species belonging to 50 families were identified. No significant differences between the diversities of native and exotic species were found. Seven use categories were reported: medicinal (49%), human food (23.2%), fishing (12.3%), condiments (8%), firewood (5%), mystical purposes (1.45%), and animal food (0.72%). The medicinal species with the highest level of agreement regarding their main uses (AMUs) were Aloe arborescens Mill., Plectranthus barbatus Andrews, Dodonaea viscosa Jacq., Plectranthus ornatus Codd, Eugenia uniflora L., and Foeniculum vulgare Mill. For illness and diseases, most plants were used for problems with the digestive system (20 species), followed by the respiratory system (16 species). This community possesses a wide botanical knowledge, especially of medicinal plants, comparable to observations made in other studies with fishing communities in coastal areas of the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. CONCLUSIONS: Ethnobotanical studies in rural-urban areas contribute to preserving local knowledge and provide information that aids in conserving the remaining ecosystems in the region.