Local communities and indigenous peoples

Abstract

Within the scope of the Amazon Forest Biome’s Protected Areas Integration (IAPA) project, developed under the Amazon Vision initiative and funded by the European Union, this paper examines the role of ancestral knowledge of indigenous peoples and practices of local communities for the conservation of protected areas in forests. Five landscapes are considered in the North and five in the South in order to analyze the ecological, social and cultural aspects and to understand the conformation and limitations of the collaboration networks for local governance that facilitate the development of sustainable activities, which, at the same time contribute to the conservation of the protected areas analyzed. Likewise, we present examples on concrete guidelines for maintaining territorial governance and avoiding the intensive use that threatens populations of flora and fauna and cultural preservation. This systematization of experiences allows the exchange of good practices and shares lessons learned to be considered to promote sustainable development in the Amazonian biodiversity.