Traditional peoples and communities are culturally distinct groups that have their own social, cultural and economic conditions, maintaining specific relationships with the territory and the environment in which they live. They also respect the principle of sustainability, seeking the survival of current generations in physical, cultural and economic aspects, as well as ensuring the same possibilities for future generations.
These 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 community, including their own ways of life, territorial relations, preservation of memory, history and material and immaterial cultural heritage, traditional knowledge in the use of natural resources, among others.
According to Decree 6,040, of February 7, 2007, which institutes the National Policy for the 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).
Examples of Traditional Peoples and Communities in Brazil
The following are considered “traditional peoples and communities” in Brazil: indigenous peoples, remaining quilombo communities, artisanal fishermen, riverside dwellers, gypsy peoples, terreiro peoples, the Pantaneiros (from the Pantanal of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul), the Faxinalenses of Paraná and the region (who combine the planting of yerba mate with pig farming and the extraction of tops based on the common use of the territory), the communities of pastures in Bahia (who practice goat farming in common use territories), the Caiçaras (artisanal maritime fishermen from the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo, who combine artisanal fishing and extraction in common areas with cultivation), the Geraizeiros (who exercise traditional occupation of the gerais or cerrado), the flower gatherers (who traditionally carried out extractivism in areas of common use in the countryside, today largely surrounded by eucalyptus monoculture and the creation of fully protected conservation units), among others who, 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 extols sustainability. That is, they know how to use natural resources consciously, without destroying them. In this way, their way of life makes it possible to find in hunting, fishing and extractivism a source of food and income and, at the same time, contribute to the conservation of nature.
These peoples and communities are becoming protagonists of a new premise that rational, consistent and long-term economic development is possible through the product chains of the sociobioeconomy (fruits, oils, native medicinal plants, ethno-ecotourism and others), which can become matrices for a new cycle of sustainable development in Brazil.
When the protection of forests is guaranteed, the climate is regulated, biodiversity is welcomed and the maintenance of life on the planet is achieved.
Canopée: Preparing Brazil for its best
Sources:
Coordination of Social Inclusion and Mobilization (CIMOS) – Public Ministry of Minas Gerais (MPMG)
Aderval Costa Filho – Professor of the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology – UFMG / Ana Beatriz Vianna Mendes – Professor of the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology – UFMG
Website:
https://conflitosambientaismg.lcc.ufmg.br/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Cartilha-Povos-tradicionais.pdf
https://www.gov.br - issues - traditional-populations
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Canopée was founded in early 2020 by a small group of internationally renowned entrepreneurs and executives who decided to pool their skills and experience to benefit the environment and communities living in protected and preserved areas.
