Indigenous People as a Means of Conservation

1
Indigenous People as a Means of Conservation

• Katie Jorgenson
• Caitlin Kelly

2
Background

• Amazon rainforest covers 4.1 million square km of
  land
• The Amazon is also home to extreme biodiversity
• One third of the worlds species can be found in
  the Amazon rainforest
• Extremely humid with a rainfall exceeding 2,000
  millimeters per year

World Bank. "Brazilian Amazon Rain Forest Fact
Sheet". 2005. http//web.worldbank.org (8 March
2006).
Photo http//magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/040
3/feature1/zoom2.html
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Deforestation

• Began in the early 1970s
• Linked to the strength of the economy
• Large businesses are mostly large cattle ranchers
  and agriculture, if they thrive deforestation
  rates increase
• One of the greatest threats to the Amazon
  rainforest is soy bean production
• lot of investment into the farming of soy beans
  because they are in demand

Fearnside, PM. 2005. "Deforestation in Brazilian
Amazonia History, Rates, and Consequences".
Conservation Biology 19 (3)680-688.
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Deforestation contd

• Increase in deforestation and logging leads to an
  increase in forest fires
• Fragmented forests dry out easier making it
  easier to reach conditions that cause forest
  fires
• Causes exploitation of environmental resources

• Loss of habitat to animals and plants
• Creates soil erosion
• Changes the water cycle
• Devastating for hydropower
• Disturbs river ecosystems

Fearnside, PM. 2005. "Deforestation in Brazilian
Amazonia History, Rates, and Consequences".
Conservation Biology 19 (3)680-688.
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How Reserves Conserve

• In 1988, Brazil amended its constitution to
  protect the lands of indigenous to preserve the
  environmental and economic stability of the land
  that ensures reproduction of indigenous culture.
• The federally-owned lands traditionally occupied
  by indigenous peoples are unregulated for
  resource extraction by third parties allowing
  for environmental degradation of these protected
  lands from foreign influences
• Illegal mahogany trade, gold mining, ranchers,
  and road construction

Schwartzman, S., and Zimmerman, B. 2005.
"Conservation Alliances with Indigenous Peoples
of the Amazon". Conservation Biology. 19 (3)
721-727.
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How Reserves Conserve contd

• Without resources for surveillance and
  enforcement, the impending pressures of invasive
  activities risk both the rich biodiversity of
  indigenous reserves and the vulnerable
  traditional cultures inhabiting them.
• A study from the Jackson Hole Research Center
  concluded that indigenous reserves can inhibit
  deforestation despite strong forces around them
• 33 of the 38 indigenous reserves studied
  exhibited .75 deforestation or less while
  surrounded by areas that are deforested at a rate
  of 1.5 annually.

Nepstad, D., Schwartzman, S., Bamberger, B.,
Santilli, M., Ray, D., Schlisinger, P., Lefebvre,
P., Alencar, A., Prinz, E., Fiske, Greg, and
Rolla, Alicia. 2006. Inhibition of Amazon
Deforestation and Fire by Parks and Indigenous
Lands. Conservation Biology 20 (1) 65-73.
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Indigenous Reserves and Areas of Active Forest
Fires

• The state of the Brazilian Amazon from GOES
  satellite in 1998 (a) natural distubrances in
  the Brazilian Amazon, gray lines indicate
  highways, while the Indigenous Reserve, labeled
  Ka represents the Kayapo reserve (b) Red
  indicates active fires detected by the GOES
  satellite during 1998. (Nepstad et al. 2005)

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Benefits of Communal Conservation EffortsFrom
Forest Trends and Ecoagricultural Partners

• A commitment of resident peoples to biodiversity
  conservation and a willingness to invest over the
  long-term, reducing the costs of conservation.
• Income generated to reduce poverty, sustain
  livelihoods and reduce pressures.
• A wider range of ecosystems and biodiversity
  protected across biological corridors and
  political boundaries.
• An approach consistent with movements for
  Indigenous Peoples greater land rights and an
  asset for creation among the poor.
• An approach that facilitates the application of
  indigenous ecological knowledge to management and
  protection.
• More local employment and expertise created for
  biodiversity conservation, complementing
  expertise in parks and forest agencies and
  reducing the dependency on top-down initiatives.
• More financial resources mobilized, increasing
  the available funds for ecologically critical
  protected areas.

Molnar, Augusta, Scherr, Sara J., and Khare,
Arvind. Who Conserves the Worlds Forests? A New
Assessment of Conservation and Trends. Forest
Trends and Ecoagricultural Partners Washington
DC, 2004. 12-14, 48-50.
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Kayapó Case Study

• Conservation International in Brazil forged an
  alliance with the Kayapó people in 1992
• Their territories contain more than thirteen
  million hectares of Amazonian forest within the
  Parà and Mata Grosso states

• The alliance aimed to curb the allure of
  contracts that cause reserve destruction, such as
  mahogany logging and gold mining, which provide
  the Kayapó people with income to further protect
  their lands.

Zimmerman, B., Peres, C.A., Malcolm, J.R., and
Turner, T. 2001. Conservation and Development
Alliances with the Kayapo of South-Eastern
Amazonia, a Tropical Indigenous People.
Environmental Conservation 28 (1) 10-22.
Photo http//gruppen.greenpeace.de/aachen/wald-fo
tos-indianer.html
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Kayapó Case Study contd

• The project also strove to empower the indigenous
  leaders development decisions by providing them
  with research information.
• Protect broadleaf mahogany populations from
  harvest, ensuring the biological diversity of the
  reserve.
• The alliance created the Pinkaiti ecological
  research station that would attract researchers
  to the reserve.

Zimmerman, B., Peres, C.A., Malcolm, J.R., and
Turner, T. 2001. Conservation and Development
Alliances with the Kayapo of South-Eastern
Amazonia, a Tropical Indigenous People.
Environmental Conservation 28 (1) 10-22.
11
Kayapó Reserve A Success Story

• The benefits of increased research opportunities
  from research station include
• Preserving indigenous knowledge within research
  studies
• Sustain the local economy by creating employment
  positions at the ecological research station
• Continuing to validate the Kayapó people from
  mutually advantageous relationships with outside
  influences
• The infrastructure created for research stations
  may accrue other occasions for economic growth of
  the Kayapó people
• Non-invasive ecotourism
• Producing other non-timber goods, such as brazil
  nuts

Zimmerman, B., Peres, C.A., Malcolm, J.R., and
Turner, T. 2001. Conservation and Development
Alliances with the Kayapo of South-Eastern
Amazonia, a Tropical Indigenous People.
Environmental Conservation 28 (1) 10-22.
12
Amazon Conservation Team

• Mission statement to work in partnership with
  indigenous people in conserving biodiversity,
  health, and culture in tropical America"
• Believes that biodiversity conservation is most
  obvious where indigenous cultures thrive
• ACT provides indigenous people with the means to
  conserve their land

About ACT". 2006 http//amazonteam.org/about.html
(4 March 2006).
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Mapping Projects

• Brought together 14 of the tribes of the Xingu
• Indigenous people create their own maps with
  guidance from ACT members
• Maps are used to guide future planning, risk
  assessment, and the assessment of areas that are
  in need of protection
• Maps have help protect the borders from illegal
  activities

"ACT Projects". 2006 http//amazonteam.org/project
s.html (4 March 2006).
Photo http//amazonteam.org/northeast.html
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Mapping contd

• Provided strategic placement of new villages on
  borders
• Brazils environmental protection agency has
  teamed up with tribes to manage the parks natural
  resources
• Signed agreements have been made to introduce
  protection activities into other territories that
  are in need of environmental protection

"ACT Projects". 2006 http//amazonteam.org/project
s.html (4 March 2006).
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Shamans and Apprentices Program

• Keep culture and traditional values of the
  indigenous people alive
• Elder teaches a younger member in the tribe
  traditional medicine

• Thousands of years of knowledge is passed on
• ACT establishes new healthcare programs
• Provides traditional healing and western medicine
  

"ACT Projects". 2006 http//amazonteam.org/project
s.html (4 March 2006).
Photo http//amazonteam.org/northeast.html