Fernandes-Pinto, E.; Oliveira-Jnior, P. B. & Cordeiro, A. Z.; 2008. THE EXTRACTIVE RESERVES A BRAZILIAN MODEL OF COMMUNITY CONSERVATIONS AREAS. IN: XI International Congress Of Ethnobiology (ICE), de 25 a 30 de junho de 2008 - Cuzco/Peru.

THE EXTRACTIVE RESERVES

A BRAZILIAN MODEL OF COMMUNITY CONSERVED AREAS -

FERNANDES-PINTO, .1; OLIVEIRA-JNIOR, P. B.

2 & CORDEIRO, A. Z.

3

ICMBIO CHICO MENDESS INSTITUTE FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

DIUSP DIRECTORATE FOR CONSERVATION UNITS OF SUSTAINABLE USE AND

TRADICTIONAL PEOPLE

1erikalencois@yahoo.com.br;

2paulo-oliveira.junior@icmbio.gov.br;

3azcordeiro@yahoo.com.br

Community Conserved Areas are considered a bold new frontier for conservation. Several studies

have shown that local communities play a critical role in conserving a variety of natural environments

and that the history of conservation and sustainable use in many areas is much older than government-

managed protected areas. Brazil is considered one of the richest countries in the world in biodiversity

and it also presents a great socio-cultural diversity; contemplated in different forms of social

organization, livelihoods, and of use and management of landscapes and natural resources.

Extractive Reserves (RESEX) are a protected area model unique to Brazil, which were proposed by

social movements of extractivists in the Amazon rain forest claiming land rights and a model of

development compatible with the conservation and sustainable use of the forests. RESEXs are

dominions of the federal government created upon the request of traditional populations for their use.

The purpose of these domains is to protect the livelihood and culture of extractivists, as well as to

ensure the sustainable use of the areas natural resources.

The objective of this paper is to analyze the current creation and management trends of Federal

RESEXs, gauging their contribution to the recognition and valuation of the countrys traditional

people and community conservation areas in Brazil. The information in this paper was generated by

analyzing official documents about Federal RESEXs, conducting interviews with local protagonists

and stakeholders, and based on the authors experience.

The first RESEXs were established in 1990; since then, the model has been extended from the

Amazon rain forest to other ecosystems. By March 2008, the number of officially created Federal

RESEXs had risen to 53, distributed among 14 Brazilian states and encompassing 10 million hectares,

directly benefiting more than 50 thousand families. The singularities of this category required the

implementation of administrative tools based on the reinforcement of community organization and on

the recognition of traditional knowledge and management practices. The strengthening of this category

of conservation unit, the recognition of traditional populations and their substantial role in

Fernandes-Pinto, E.; Oliveira-Jnior, P. B. & Cordeiro, A. Z.; 2008. THE EXTRACTIVE RESERVES A BRAZILIAN MODEL OF COMMUNITY CONSERVATIONS AREAS. IN: XI International Congress Of Ethnobiology (ICE), de 25 a 30 de junho de 2008 - Cuzco/Peru.

environmental conservation, and continuing escalation of socio-environmental conflicts in the country

have led to a rising demand for the creation of RESEXs all over the country. There are currently 120

requests for the creation of RESEXs being analyzed and evaluated.

RESEXs represent one of the examples of paradigmatical change in the model of environmental

management and economical development, starting from local experiences. They are an innovative

category of Protected Area in Brazil, where the intrinsic character of the relationship between society

and nature is explicit. Besides environmental conservation, the main objectives of the creation of new

RESEXs are to promote sustainable development and ensure the social inclusion of traditional

populations.

RESEXs represent the recognition of the rights of these communities to their original territories, of

their important role in environmental conservation, and the importance of maintaining traditional

common pool resource management strategies. In a context in which recent research has identified a

contingent of more than 45 million people classified as traditional individuals or communities, the

RESEX has gained validity and significance as an alternative model of development compatible with

Brazils socioenvironmental reality.

ice2008@andes.org.pe