STATE OF THE RAINFOREST 2014
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Brazil: Where indigenous peoples plan their own future
In the state of Acre in the southwestern Brazilian Amazon, all
indigenous lands are titled and recognized by the state. The long-
term security this provides has allowed the indigenous population to
develop systems for resource management based on their own culture
and traditions, while also incorporating new needs and aspirations.
´For the past 15 years, the state government of Acre has supported a
policy where the value of forests has been recognized and where great
efforts have been made to achieve sustainability’, explains Marcos
Catelli Rocha, who works at Comissão Pró-Índio do Acre (CPI-Acre).
Acre has a long history of strong social movements who support forest
conservation. Comissão Pró-Índio do Acre, the Indigenous Teachers’
Organization of Acre (OPIAC), the Organization of Indigenous
Forestry Agents in Acre (AMAAIAC) and associations representing
the indigenous territories have all been central actors in promoting
public policies for sustainable forest-based livelihoods.
Restoring ancestral lands
The rainforests of Acre have since time immemorial been inhabited
by indigenous peoples, and the forests and landscapes have co-
evolved with their societies. A central management practice was the
“roçados”, temporary cultivated spaces with high genetic variation.
Due to the eviction of people from their lands, enslavement, and
internal land conflicts, people either abandoned their “roçados”
or stopped cultivating plants that grow slowly. With recognized
territories, they now know they can stay, and the practice of making
“roçados” for cultivating different types of plants and species has
gained renewed strength.
Living in geographically defined territories has brought new
challenges, however. Illegal logging, drug trafficking, road
construction, cattle ranching and expansion of agro-industrial
production put pressure on the surroundings. Population growth
combined with new expectations and desires among the younger
generations result in pressure on the territories’ resources. In the
villages, people have started discussing how they can control and
manage their territories in viable ways, based on their own culture
but also satisfying new needs.
Francisca Oliveira de Lima Costa, the president of OPIAC, explains:
‘You know, we do not live in isolation. We also depend on things
produced outside the territories. New children are born, they need
food. We know we are rich in resources, but we have to be careful so
we do not end up generating scarcity. Plant nurseries, where we can
produce for sale on a small scale, is an example of how we can get
income to buy what we need.’
As a response to these concerns, OPIAC and CPI-Acre initiated the
Education Programme for Indigenous Agroforestry Agents in 1996.
The programme has created an arena where different indigenous
groups share their knowledge about cultivating practices, discuss
problems related to resource use, and learn new agroforestry practices.
Thanks to the work of the agroforestry agents, new species, including
highly valued fruit trees, have been introduced in the roçados, and
degraded areas have been restored.
Time for indigenous governance
Apriority for the indigenous organizations, CPI-Acre and also for Acre’s
government the last decade has been to map the indigenous territories
and develop resource management plans (MAP 1). The indigenous
management plans form part of the state’s land-use plan, where the
territory of Acre is divided into geographical zones: indigenous and
traditional peoples’ territories, forest conservation areas, production
forest for timber and other products, and areas for agriculture.
`The management plans are the expression of how we want to live.
The old ones, the pajées [shaman/wise men], the families, women
and men, the school children and teachers have all been involved
in developing these plans. They show the resources we have in our
lands, and establish the rules we, the inhabitants of these lands,
have agreed upon. Each plan is different, and it is important that the
different natural environments and the autonomy of each indigenous
group are taken into account´, says Francisca Oliveira de Lima Costa.
`In the development of the management plans, education and the
role of the indigenous agroforestry agents have been central´, adds
Josias Pereira Kaxinawá, the president of AMAAIAC. `We are now
159 indigenous agro-forestry agents who belong to 13 indigenous
groups. Each territory has its own agents working in the villages.
Together with the villagers, they have mapped natural features of the
territories, how the families use existing resources, and resources
and areas which are under pressure´ (Photo 1 or 2). The maps and
the plans are important instruments for the governance of the
indigenous territories.
Francisca and Josias agree that the policies of the Acre government’s
have been favourable for these processes. The government created
a fund for elaborating management plans and for implementing
projects defined in these plans. The indigenous agro-forestry agents
received scholarships for several years. However, implementing the
management plans has also posed challenges.
`The state institutions in charge have tended not to take existing
management plans properly into account, and not sufficiently involve
the communities and the agro-forestry agents. In the territory of my
people, the Arara, the government started projects that we have never
agreed to. And just as in other territories, those projects failed, notes
Francisca. For instance, chicken were distributed to all indigenous
