An extractive reserve (Portuguese: Reserva Extrativista) is a type of sustainable use protected area in Brazil. The land is publicly owned but the people who live there have the right to traditional extractive practices such as hunting, fishing and harvesting wild plants.
In the broad sense, an extractive reserve is an area of land, generally state-owned where access and use rights, including natural resource extraction, are allocated to local groups or communities. Extractive reserves limit deforestation both by the local residents preventing deforestation within their reserve, and by acting as a buffer zone that keeps ranching and extractive industry out of the forests beyond.
"Extractive reserve" is among the types of sustainable use protected area defined by Law No. 9.985 of 18 July 2000, which established the National System of Conservation Units (SNUC). The extractive reserves are of public domain but the use of the land is allowed for traditional extractive populations. They are areas used by traditional extractive populations whose livelihood is based on extraction, subsistence agriculture and small-scale livestock raising. They are created to protect the livelihoods and culture of these people, ensuring sustainable use of natural resources. The land is in the public domain, but the people who live there have the extractive rights. Public visits are allowed where compatible with local interests and the provisions of the management plan for the unit. Research is permitted and encouraged, subject to prior authorization with the responsible agency.
Extractive reserves in Brazil include:
Marine extractive reserves in Brazil include: