Fires Drive Long-Term Environmental Degradation in the Amazon Basin

The Amazon Basin is undergoing extensive environmental degradation as a result of deforestation and the rising occurrence of fires. The degradation caused by fires is exacerbated by the occurrence of anomalously dry periods in the Amazon Basin. The objectives of this study were: (i) to quantify the extent of areas that burned between 2001 and 2019 and relate them to extreme drought events in a 20-year time series; (ii) to identify the proportion of countries comprising the Amazon Basin in which environmental degradation was strongly observed, relating the spatial patterns of fires; and (iii) examine the Amazon Basin carbon balance following the occurrence of fires. To this end, the following variables were evaluated by remote sensing between 2001 and 2019: gross primary production, standardized precipitation index, burned areas, fire foci, and carbon emissions. During the examined period, fires affected 23.78% of the total Amazon Basin. Brazil had the largest affected area (220,087 fire foci, 773,360 km2 burned area, 54.7% of the total burned in the Amazon Basin), followed by Bolivia (102,499 fire foci, 571,250 km2 burned area, 40.4%). Overall, these fires have not only affected forests in agricultural frontier areas (76.91%), but also those in indigenous lands (17.16%) and conservation units (5.93%), which are recognized as biodiversity conservation areas. During the study period, the forest absorbed 1,092,037 Mg of C, but emitted 2908 Tg of C, which is 2.66-fold greater than the C absorbed, thereby compromising the role of the forest in acting as a C sink. Our findings show that environmental degradation caused by fires is related to the occurrence of dry periods in the Amazon Basin.

The sustainability of indigenous lands in Amapá state

We herein assess population growth in indigenous lands (ILs) Wajãpi, Uaçá, Galibi and Juminã in Amapá State-Brazil, which has influenced deforestation increase. We assumed the hypothesis of no association between demographic density and deforestation because population density in these areas is low. We used population growth, deaths, and deforestation data by considering a historical series (2002-2018). Demographic data have shown that Uaçá and Wajãpi ILs recorded the highest population growth. The highest demographic density was observed for Galibi ILs and the lowest one for Wajãpi ILs. The highest deforestation was observed for Uaçá ILs and the lowest one for Juminã ILs. Therefore, indigenous lands in Amapá State have an essential role in forest conservation.

Indigenous Lands at Risk: Identifying Global Challenges and Opportunities in the Face of Industrial Development

Indigenous Peoples’ (IP) stewardship has helped conserve biodiversity and maintain healthy ecosystems worldwide. Among many challenges to this role are mounting pressures from industrial development. By assessing the current ecological condition of Indigenous lands with their potential for future industrial development, we show that the ecological integrity of 22% (8.6 million km2) of Indigenous lands is highly threatened across five continents and 37 countries. We further find that the risk to Indigenous lands is greatest across West and Central Africa because of their high ecological threat and greater obstacles for Indigenous Peoples to realize self-determined and culturally-responsive development outcomes. Using a novel national-level framework that examines the security of IP’ rights and authority over their lands, their capacity to engage in decision-making, and support for facilitating sustainable development, we highlight potential challenges and opportunities for strategic investments and interventions to help IP safeguard their futures and rights, as well as the ecological integrity of their lands.

Indigenous Lands at Risk: Identifying Global Challenges and Opportunities in the Face of Industrial Development

Indigenous Peoples’ (IP) stewardship has helped conserve biodiversity and maintain healthy ecosystems worldwide. Among many challenges to this role are mounting pressures from industrial development. By assessing the current ecological condition of Indigenous lands with their potential for future industrial development, we show that the ecological integrity of 22% (8.6 million km2) of Indigenous lands is highly threatened across five continents and 37 countries. We further find that the risk to Indigenous lands is greatest across West and Central Africa because of their high ecological threat and greater obstacles for Indigenous Peoples to realize self-determined and culturally-responsive development outcomes. Using a novel national-level framework that examines the security of IP’ rights and authority over their lands, their capacity to engage in decision-making, and support for facilitating sustainable development, we highlight potential challenges and opportunities for strategic investments and interventions to help IP safeguard their futures and rights, as well as the ecological integrity of their lands.

Demandas de representação e comunicação no Facebook: análise de fanpages de organizações indigenistas

Este artigo consiste em análise de conteúdo das fanpages das organizações Mobilização Nacional Indígena e Conselho Indigenista Missionário na rede social Facebook, entre agosto e novembro de 2017, considerando a proposta dos elementos de cultura de comunicação on-line de Kavada (2013) e identificação de demandas de representação (representative claim) segundo Saward (2010). Os resultados indicam que as organizações levantam demandas semelhantes, como a demarcação de terras indígenas, mas têm diferenças em relação à abordagem dos conteúdos, fins e funções da comunicação, o que abre espaço para problemas quanto à representação política não eleitoral de povos indígenas.Representative claims and communication on Facebook: indigenists organizations fan pages analysisAbstractThis article consists of content analysis of the fan pages of the organizations Mobilização Nacional Indígena and Conselho Indigenista Missionário on the Facebook, between August and November 2017, considering the proposal of the elements of Kavada's online communication culture (2013) and identification of representative claims (SAWARD, 2010). The results indicate that the organizations raise similar demands, such as the demarcation of indigenous lands, but have differences in relation to the approach to the contents and purposes and functions of communication, which opens space for problems regarding the non-electoral political representation of indigenous peoples.Keywords: indigenous movement; Facebook; political representation; communication culture.

Discourses of Decentralization: Local Participation and Sámi Space for Agency in Norwegian Protected Area Management

This chapter analyzes the 2010 reform of Norwegian protected area management, which provided new arenas for influence for the Indigenous Sámi over protected areas on their lands, to explore how discourses of decentralization and participation in nature conservation shape the space for agency of Indigenous peoples. The results show that the discourses governing the reform articulate the relationship between Sámi rights and protected areas in relation to several different concepts, problem representations, and proposed solution, each with potentially different consequences for Sámi participation and influence. The construction of the concept of “participation” in the discourse of protected area management makes it possible to integrate into a system modelled after traditional, centralized organizational structures that prioritize conservation objectives over Sámi rights without fundamentally challenging relationships of power, divisions of responsibilities, or objectives for management. The paper concludes that the Norwegian discourse provides arenas for Sámi influence and participation that could serve as an example for protected area governance and management on Indigenous lands elsewhere, but that the failure to radically reconsider the principal assumptions of protected area discourses risks upholding or reinforcing asymmetrical power relations and colonial stereotypes.

Beyond the Bioceanic Route: indigenous crafts and the potential of ethno-tourism in the southwest of Mato Grosso do Sul

The object of this article is the relationship between indigenous crafts and the potential of ethno-tourism in the southwest of Mato Grosso do Sul. With the implementation of the Bi-oceanic Route, government propaganda has been promising that this economic corridor will stimulate tourism, hence the objective of probing the potential of ethno-tourism in that region, which will directly suffer a great impact as a result of this large-scale undertaking. The theoretical-methodological framework is based on the basic assumption that human productions necessarily result from work, hence the need to treat them as social relations. Therefore, the object of research only acquires understanding within the most general frameworks of capitalist society, expressed by categories such as capital, labor, labor force, market, merchandise, among others. Regarding the methodology, the empirical data survey looked for primary sources of a documentary and imaginary nature, especially photographs. Systematic observations were also recovered in work siltation, carried out both in production and commercialization stations of indigenous artifacts. Secondary sources relevant to the object were also raised, such as catalogs, scientific articles, master's dissertations, doctoral theses, books, and book chapters. To make ethno-tourism viable, the general conclusion is that it invests in a set of initiatives, planned in an integrated and continuous manner within a permanent project. In this group, the improvement of ethnic artifacts is urgent; the recovery and systematic maintenance of the access roads to indigenous lands, as well as the restoration and adaptation of the buildings already available in the villages, with a view to adapting them to the provision of services and products to tourists.