19 Jan The importance of Traditional Peoples and Communities in sustainable development
Traditional peoples and communities are culturally differentiated groups, which have their own social, cultural and economic conditions, maintaining specific relations with the territory and the environment in which they live. They also respect the principle of sustainability, seeking the survival of the present generations under the physical, cultural and economic aspects, as well as ensuring the same possibilities for the next generations.
They are peoples who occupy or claim their traditionally occupied territories, whether this occupation is permanent or temporary. The members of a traditional people or community have ways of being, doing and living that are distinct from those of society in general, which makes these groups recognize themselves as bearers of their own identities and rights.
It is important to highlight the various benefits that these groups promote for the national collectivity, including their own ways of life, territorial relations, preservation of memory, history, and tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and traditional knowledge in the use of natural resources, among others.
According to Decree Law no. 6.040/2007, of February 7, which institutes the National Policy for Sustainable Development of Traditional Peoples and Communities, traditional peoples and communities can be defined as:
“…culturally differentiated groups that recognize themselves as such, that have their own forms of social organization, that occupy and use territories and natural resources as a condition for their cultural, social, religious, ancestral and economic reproduction, using knowledge, innovations and practices generated and transmitted by tradition.” (Decree 6.040, art. 3, § 1).
Illustration used for the campaign to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus among traditional populations | Davis Sousa
Examples of Traditional Peoples and Communities in Brazil
The following are considered “traditional peoples and communities” in Brazil: the indigenous peoples, the remaining quilombos communities, the artisanal fishermen, the ribeirinhos, the gypsy peoples, the terreiro peoples, the pantaneiros (from the Mato Grosso and South-Mato Grosso wetlands) the faxinalenses from Paraná and region (that combine the planting of yerba mate with pig farming and the extraction of pião from the common use of the territory), the communities from Bahia (that practice goat farming in territories of common use), the caiçaras (artisanal fishermen from the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo, who combine artisanal fishing and extractivism in common areas with farming), the geraizeiros (who traditionally occupy general or cerrado areas), the gatherers of everlasting flowers (who traditionally practiced extractivism in areas of common use in the countryside, today largely surrounded by eucalyptus monoculture and by the creation of full-protection conservation units), among others that, together, represent a significant portion of the Brazilian population and occupy a considerable part of the national territory.
In their practices, Traditional Peoples and Communities have a management logic that praises sustainability. That is, they know how to use natural resources in a conscious way, without destroying them. In this way, their way of life makes it possible to find a source of food and income through hunting, fishing, and extraction, and, at the same time, to contribute to nature conservation.
These people and communities are becoming protagonists of a new premise that rational, consistent, and long-term economic development is possible through sociobioeconomy product chains (fruits, oils, native medicinal plants, ethnoecotourism, and others), which can become the matrix for a new cycle of sustainable development in Brazil.
When the protection of the forests is guaranteed, the climate is regulated, biodiversity is welcomed and the maintenance of life on the planet is accomplished.
Canopée: Preparing Brazil for its best
Sources:
Social Inclusion and Mobilization Coordinator (CIMOS) – Minas Gerais Public Ministry (MPMG)
Aderval Costa Filho – Professor of the Department of Anthropology and Archeology – UFMG / Ana Beatriz Vianna Mendes – Professor of the Department of Anthropology and Archeology – UFMG
Site:
https://conflitosambientaismg.lcc.ufmg.br/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Cartilha-Povos-tradicionais.pdf
https://www.gov.br › assuntos › populacoes-tradicionais