Course:CONS370/Projects/Land defenders of the Brazilian Amazon: the evolution of Extractive Reserves after Chico Mendes

An extractive reserve is a protected area in Brazil and promotes sustainable use of the land. The land of Extractive Reserves is publicly owned by organizations representing local residents, and the local populations still have the right to practice their traditional extractive practices freely (hunting, fishing, harvesting wild plants, etc) and manage the land. This concept was popularized thanks to Fransisco “Chico” Mendes and the implementation of them significantly increased due to his unfortunate and premature death.

A picture of Francisco "Chico" Mendes

Description

The reserves are a result of the rubber tapper community’s social movement for the protection of the Amazon rainforest. It serves as their representation in front of large corporations and governments. The first was created in 1983, but the rest started to form in 1990 onwards in large part thanks to Francisco “Chico” Mendes. He was a rubber tapper and union leader who was assassinated in 1988 by cattle ranchers. Created by the rubber tappers, the idea of the extractive reserves was to protect the forest and guarantee the land rights for themselves. Ownership and control of the land was, and remains, important due to their livelihood revolving around its presence. Since their creation, the Extractive Reserve locals have adopted new  sources of income other than non-timber forest products, despite it still remaining a main activity. The Extractive Reserves continue to expand and inspire other communities to do the same. The government has since recognized the reserves and has encouraged sustainable methods of maintenance and land use, including local community forest management methods.

Tenure arrangements

During the 1960s and 1970s, Brazil’s economic modernization, many households occupied large areas of the Amazon rainforest and lived off the extraction of mostly non-timber forest products. These households did not have any legal title to hold or use the land but resided there. However, the government considered these households as “squatters” which were occupying government owned land, which led these families to politically resist and create communities to ensure their safety, as some families had been expelled from said land by Brazilian government. These communities sought a land tenure agreement which would protect them and allow them to subsist off the land they had been established on. At first seeking individual ownership, the government denied this because of the proposed land size. Due to the locals’ non-timber extractive activities, they requested bigger portions of land than the government had previously given to colonists. The government was reluctant to do so which led the families to seek collective land use agreements. Instead of simply being occupants, they became protectors of the forest, aligning themselves with environmental activists in order to protect their land and gain land use rights. In this process, the communities drafted a new land ownership proposition which resembled the Indigenous reserves model, which would give them collective holding of the areas they practiced their traditional practices in. Legal security would allow them to protect the collective's property from infringement of their rules and norms. This proposition was accepted and in the following decade extractive reserves were created and grew in numbers rapidly. Chico Mendes greatly participated in this, his death marking the starting point of growing involvement and support by international sources in the creation of reserves meant to protect both the land and the traditional populations which live inside it. Today there are more than 50 extractive reserves across the Amazon, which all use this model of land protection.

Administrative arrangements

Francisco “Chico” Mendes set up most of the groundwork for the development of administrative procedures of Extractive reserves. One of the key objectives of the Extractive Reserves was local forest management. Chico Mendes strongly emphasized this fact, ensuring development, management, and ownership of the land went to the local residents. During the creation of the reserve, there are many procedures, including surveying, that must occur and be approved. The locals must agree to work together as a community organization for the management of the reserve. During the socio-economic survey, a register of the residents must be created with their location and land as each resident is entitled to a parcel of land to claim as a home and shelter. Once the Extractive Reserve is created, the locals are allowed to begin creating reserve utilization plans. In order to start, they first need to issue a licensing contract which must include a utilization plan approved by the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA). This process is an administrative means of ensuring that the extraction of the forest products is sustainable. This protects the forest from harm foreseen by the locals and ensures that the practices are up to standard of local legislation. An important note to mention is that the locals are the ones who approach IBAMA with a Reserve Utilization plan and not the other way around. With the help of their expansive knowledge on their forests, their plan must include all the information that is relevant to the project, including the aims of the plan, the persons in charge of implementing the plan, and the human activities in the reserve. This allows for a proper environmental impact assessment. As for internal matters, such as individual land inheritance, trade and more, they are handled by the community appointed leaders and their respective organization without the help of the government. This benefits local governance and self-sustaining practices.

Affected Stakeholders

The community that most of extractive reserves are founded around is the rubber tappers. They are the inhabitants of the forest who extract sap from rubber trees and sell it for it to be transformed into natural rubber. Their sapping practice is sustainable as the tree lives on and does not suffer from the extraction. The rubber tappers were the main actors in the chase for collective ownership of extractive reserves. After they had regrouped into communities across Brazil, Chico Mendes called for the formation of a representative association in order to gain relative power, allowing them to push for reforms and improve their work conditions and life conditions. By raising awareness surrounding the dangers of deforestation to their livelihood, Mendes got most of the communities to agree and join him in an association of rubber tappers. This led to the creation of extractive reserves, in which rubber tappers are free to subsist on their traditional practices. These reserves allowed these rubber tappers to establish land usage rights. In each community, separate households demarcated their specific usage zone, which was granted and allowed them to use said land as they wished. In these communities, cattle rearing and other self-sustaining activities such as small-scale agriculture were common, however after land use rights were granted, some owners partly divert from rubber tapping and have diversified land-use. A small amount of deforestation is involved, which is supposed to stay under the 10% allowed in the creation of the reserves.

Interested Outside Stakeholders

There are two main outside stakeholders that are involved with the Extractive Reserves and they are non-government organizations (NGO) and international development co-operation providers. Chico Mendes understood that interactions with external entities was essential for the longevity of the Extractive Reserves. This is true, but it is only sustainable if the reserve residents are the ones in control of the impact of outside stakeholders. There are of course many other stakeholders, such as local businesses and charities, but the two previously mentioned are the most common. Non-government agencies are extremely beneficial to the extractive reserves as they facilitate independent development for the residents. NGOs can come in many forms, but often act as advisors. NGOs bring in people who have a good understanding of the outside economic system and can advise the locals. The amount of power an NGO has in an Extractive Reserve is determined by the local residents. They can work with the NGO and keep them only as advisors or can request that a professional be brought in to train the locals if they desire to pursue a new utilization plan. The main objective of the NGO’s is to encourage and help the Extractive Reserve residents grow and develop sustainably all while having the opportunity to profit off their land. The NGO’s objective is to help the locals thrive as the NGOs depend on the success of the collaborations to stay active. The second main stakeholder that can be found in the Extractive reserves are international development co-operation providers. The international development co-operation providers aim explicitly to support national or international development priorities and they are not driven by profit. Their power, just like the NGOs, are determined by the locals.

Discussion

The creation of extractive reserves was focused on land preservation and on the rights of the people who lived on this land and off this land. Rubber tappers gained security and protection for the forest which they had traditionally lived on and created communities which now enjoy the right of use of their land to sustain themselves. The original project, led by Chico Mendes, was a success in both the newfound security and the working rights. However, all the communities did not evolve in perfect harmony. They had joined in order to achieve community land-use rights, but past that, land-users did not specifically agree on all aspects of their agreements and borders. Specific rubber tapping and land-use practices vary within reserves and can lead to conflict in the process of establishing rules for the land. There are institutions built to deal with such conflict, however it can sometimes come down to small areas of territory, in which case land holders would deal with them themselves. As part of an association rubber tappers have both respected the land and each other through the creation and use of these reserves.

Assessment

Thanks to the groundwork set up by Chico Mendes, the distribution of power amongst the Extractive Reserves benefits the local residents in a sustainable manner. Local populations have complete ownership and control of the land. Although they must still go through regular government processes to start developments and utilization, they are owners and choose which path they want to take. They are free to bring in stakeholders that will have some power. As long as the entity that is attributed power is invited to the community and is accepted, will this occur. This secures the constant and sustainable self-governance of the locals.

Recommendations

This case of a forestry community association has created a new type of land ownership within the Amazon rainforest. The reserve being a controlled space, it remains almost impossible to entirely survey and monitor land use and landowner practices, which has created challenges The institutions responsible for this monitoring struggle over the size of the land and the layout, and can only collect their information through surveys sent to households which own land within the reserves. Over the past decade, an informal land market seems to have formed between land users within certain reserves, but not enough information has been collected for it to be put into light. Perhaps the effort to expand already existing reserves should be put aside in order to focus on the creation of new reserves and the proper regulation of currently existing reserves. This would allow for communities to constructively progress and thrive.

References

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