According to press reports, this issue threatens an activity passed down through generations—one linked to the subsequent production of juices, ice cream, and sweets made from the fruit.

  At the Uilson de Sa Mangabeiras Extractive Reserve in Aracaju, dozens of women continue to harvest Sergipe’s emblematic fruit, despite growing urban development pressure on one of the last areas where this traditional practice survives.

  The *mangaba* is a primary source of income for many families and a key part of the cultural identity of Afro-descendant communities that have relied on sustainable harvesting for over 80 years—a practice recognized in 2025 with the “Guardians of Socio-biodiversity” Award from the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.

  However, these women warn that the expansion of gated communities and other urban developments is shrinking the *mangaba* groves year by year, jeopardizing biodiversity and the continuity of their way of life.

  During the Fifth Harvest Festival, the aforementioned news source noted, the reserve’s “Popular Management Plan” was unveiled; it was drafted by the gatherers themselves after two years of collective effort to establish rules for the territory’s use, conservation, and protection.

  Municipal authorities announced support for the construction of a *mangaba* processing center and pledged to step up environmental monitoring and measures to prevent further encroachment on the protected area.

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