After decades of struggle, most of the Amazon’s indigenous peoples have in recent years gained legal title to their ancestral lands, which compose more than 20 percent of the Amazon Basin. Here, The Nature Conservancy’s liaison to these communities describes his own transition, from São Paulo academic to master of the quiet art of listening.
MY EVOLUTION / When I became a biologist, I worked in plant taxonomy and ecology—very academic. But I felt that I was having only an indirect impact on the environment. Little by little, I began to see that one of the most effective ways of protecting the environment, especially in the Amazon, was by working with the indigenous populations, the ones who are most intimately connected to the natural environment and directly affected by its destruction.
PRIZING THE LIVING FORESTS / The Amazon Basin possesses the greatest bio-diversity on the planet, and it houses more than 200 indigenous cultures. But last year alone, nearly 7.5 million acres of the Amazon’s forests were lost to ranching, logging and agriculture.
The Conservancy has developed relationships with a network of indigenous organizations. Together, we are promoting public policies to conserve the forests and offering tools that help communities manage and protect their natural resources.
“Each community is different, with its own challenges and traditions and ways of managing resources. You have to learn how to deal with this diverse world.”
Marcio Sztutman
LISTEN FIRST / One of the first things I do when I contact an indigenous group is begin a long period of courtship, at times living in their villages for three or four months to develop trust. You have to know how to listen instead of talking. You have to be flexible, so that you adapt what you know to their reality. In the beginning, people are often suspicious because they have been played for fools so many times in the past.
Each community is different, with its own challenges and traditions and ways of managing resources. You have to learn how to deal with this diverse world.
After the courtship, we may begin a process of environmental planning. One of the most interesting tools for this is what we call ethnomaps. We begin with satellite images of an indigenous area. Then the community members add information, charting their uses of the land. The results are maps that show where people hunt, where their sacred sites are. These maps help identify the environmental stresses. All this helps the communities and the Conservancy develop plans for sustainable land use. The maps link traditional indigenous knowledge with Western science.
AMAZON REALITIES / There are times when I become so in tune with our indigenous partners that the work is extremely fulfilling. Other times, when you dedicate yourself for months to a project and yet the moment is not right, that’s very discouraging. I think my worst moments are when I somehow don’t match what the people want, perhaps because of miscommunication or misunderstanding.
HONORING KNOWLEDGE / The Amazon will not stay the same or return to what it was. But by working together, we can favor sustainable development that respects both indigenous communities and the land.
In the forest, no two days are the same. It’s an explosion of colors, forms and sounds. But it goes beyond beauty. The indigenous people have a profound knowledge of all this and see the logic behind it. That is something I believe should be preserved.
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