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Conservancy and partner launch indigenous training center for conservation in the Amazon

CAFI, as it is known locally, is a pilot initiative in the promotion of conservation in indigenous lands, which comprie nearly 22 percent of the Amazon Basin.

August 31, 2006

This past week, the Conservancy’s Amazon Conservation Program and partner COIAB, the largest indigenous federation in the Amazon, formally inaugurated the Amazon Indigenous Training Center (CAFI) in Manaus, Brazil. CAFI, as it is known locally, is a pilot initiative in the promotion of conservation in indigenous lands, which comprise nearly 22 percent of the Amazon Basin. The Center is the first of its kind in the Brazilian Amazon to work exclusively in training indigenous youth in conservation techniques specific to indigenous lands.

CAFI’s mission is to strengthen local and regional indigenous organizations by training indigenous technicians who will work in land management in their own territories. The Center is equipped with instructors, both indigenous and non-indigenous, who are trained specialists in topics important in meeting the current demands faced by indigenous communities in conservation and development.

The first group of 15 students, coming from 12 different indigenous lands scattered across the Brazilian Amazon, will begin the course Ethno-environmental Management this month. Some of the disciplines offered as part of this course include: monitoring and patrolling in indigenous lands, geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing techniques, indigenous and environmental legislation, natural resource management and ethnomapping among others.

After their 5-month training based in Manaus, the students will return to their areas of origin to put into practice the technical knowledge gained. During the first year of operation, two groups of 15 students are expected to be trained at the Center, with the possibility of more.

Traditionally, indigenous people have a history of sustainably managing natural resources for their communities. However, increasing internal and external pressures for natural resources including illegal logging, poaching, overhunting and overfishing threaten indigenous lands. In order to counter these threats effectively, indigenous people themselves have identified the need for increased, culturally-appropriate technical assistance in sustainable land management.

"CAFI is a pioneer initiative in the promotion of conservation in indigenous areas of the Amazon by offering technical assistance to indigenous youth to help them counter emerging environmental threats and serve as catalysts in their own lands," says Jorge Terena, indigenous liaison for the Conservancy’s Amazon Conservation Program.

The reforestation project, which starts this year, is expected to last through 2008.

For More Information:

• Where We Work: More CAFI Training Center Information
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