INSTITUTO RAONI Brazil
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Empowered lives. Resilient nations. INSTITUTO RAONI Brazil Equator Initiative Case Studies Local sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES Local and indigenous communities across the world are 126 countries, the winners were recognized for their advancing innovative sustainable development solutions achievements at a prize ceremony held in conjunction that work for people and for nature. Few publications with the United Nations Convention on Climate Change or case studies tell the full story of how such initiatives (COP21) in Paris. Special emphasis was placed on the evolve, the breadth of their impacts, or how they change protection, restoration, and sustainable management over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories of forests; securing and protecting rights to communal with community practitioners themselves guiding the lands, territories, and natural resources; community- narrative. The Equator Initiative aims to fill that gap. based adaptation to climate change; and activism for The Equator Initiative, supported by generous funding environmental justice. The following case study is one in from the Government of Norway, awarded the Equator a growing series that describes vetted and peer-reviewed Prize 2015 to 21 outstanding local community and best practices intended to inspire the policy dialogue indigenous peoples initiatives to reduce poverty, protect needed to take local success to scale, to improve the global nature, and strengthen resilience in the face of climate knowledge base on local environment and development change. Selected from 1,461 nominations from across solutions, and to serve as models for replication. PROJECT SUMMARY KEY FACTS Instituto Raoni (Raoni Institute) is the organizational Equator Prize Winner face of the Kayapó, a Brazilian indigenous group that 2015 is leading the fight against rampant deforestation of the Amazon. The organization uses an innovative Founded media strategy called the ‘video warriors project’ to document illegal logging in their territory, to increase 2001 accountability in the most remote regions of the Location Amazon rainforest, and to leverage support for their campaign to demarcate ancestral lands and the Xingu 22 villages in the south-eastern Amazon along the River. Created by the Kayapó, Instituto Raoni also borders of the Mato Grosso and Pará states works with other indigenous peoples to strengthen local food security and develop alternative livelihoods. Beneficiaries Instituto Raoni is protecting over 2 million hectares A total of 3,100 indigenous peoples of the Kayapó, Trumai, of indigenous lands, including the largest remaining Juruna, Panará, and Tapayuna ethnicities contiguous segment of the Amazon rainforest. Areas of focus Protection, restoration, and sustainable management of forests; protection and work to secure rights to communal lands, territories, and natural resources; innovative partnerships with government or the private sector to promote sustainable development Sustainable Development Goals Addressed EQUATOR PRIZE 2015 WINNER FILM The designations employed and the presentation of material on this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations or UNDP concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT Deep in the lush Amazon rainforest of eastern Brazil, agriculture practiced by the women, complemented by the Kayapó indigenous people (or, as they prefer to call hunting, fishing and gathering of forest products, which themselves, Mebêngôkre, which means ‘people from the is done by the men. The main crops are corn, banana, rice, water place’) have fought for decades to defend their land sweet potato, cassava, cotton and tobacco, and all which and way of life from development projects and economic are planted in concentric circles. activities that threaten their livelihood and culture. The Kayapó territory is located in the middle of the ‘Arc of There is no single chief who leads the entire village. Instead, Deforestation’, in the south-eastern Amazon region, where there are usually at least two chiefs who lead the rituals deforestation is most severe and land conflicts are violent. and ceremonies. All human interventions on nature are accompanied by rituals and these may fall into one of the This area is also part of the South Amazon Ecotones following three categories: (1) large ceremonies to confirm Ecological Corridor, which is rich in biodiversity and personal names; (2) agricultural, hunting, fishing or festivity provides important ecosystem services, as well as habitat rituals; (3) rites of passage, which are short and formal, to for animal species such as the Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), announce the passing from one type of age to another. the Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas), the Blue-and-yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna), the American Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) The Kayapó gained world fame in 1989 when they and the Jaguar (Panthera onca), and plant species such as garnered the support of celebrities such as Sting to oppose the Brazil-nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa) and the Big-leaf the building of six hydroelectric dams within their territory Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla). that threatened to devastate their way of life. While their efforts succeeded in halting these projects, their land and The villages of Kremoro, Metuktire, Bytire, Kawaretiko, livelihoods are far from safe. Piaraçu, Kenpo, Kakamkubem, Omeikrakum, Kororoti, More, Pykatankwyry, Jatobá, Wani-Wani, Kretire, Krumare, In recent years, the government has not been able to Pakaya, Mokrore, Nassepotit, Sonkarasã, Kanaã, Kotiko protect the area from invasion and the consequent loss and Sonkrei, located on the border of the Mato Grosso and degradation of natural resources by third parties. It and Pará states, harbour a population of 3,450 Kayapó has been the Kayapó, through Instituto Raoni (Raoni peoples who share a common language: Jê. In the Kayapó Institute), who have taken action against these illegal worldview, the universe is understood as a series of incursions into their territory. concentric circles, with their villages at the centre as the only fully human domain. Other indigenous peoples and Along with defending their ancestral lands, the Kayapó Brazilians are located in the periphery and the forest is a have partnered with government agencies and NGOs to place considered to be inhabited by half-animal and half- strengthen their capacity to produce food and generate human beings. income in an environmentally sustainable way. In 2016, the Kayapó received the National Human Rights Award, in Consequently, Kayapó villages are also circular, with a large the category ‘Guaranteeing the Rights of the Indigenous open area in the middle to hold meetings and ceremonies. Population, Quilombolas and the Peoples and Traditional The house of the men is also at the core, while the rest Communities’ in recognition of their innovative work to of the houses, where families live, are built in a circle develop partnerships between traditional communities around it. Their traditional economy is based on swidden and companies. 4 Instituto Raoni origin and structure Instituto Raoni was created in 2001 by the Kayapó with ■ To support the physical and cultural reproduction the initial objectives of protecting and demarcating their of the Kayapó, Panará, Tapayuna, Juruna and Trumaí indigenous lands. It is named after its founder, Chief Raoni, indigenous communities; who has attempted to preserve nature against predatory ■ To manage the financial resources allocated to actions since 1954, when the Kayapó first had regular Instituto Raoni or to the Kayapó, Panará, Tapayuna, contact with non-indigenous peoples. Instituto Raoni’s Juruna and Trumaí indigenous communities; and administrative headquarters are located in Colíder, in the ■ To commercially represent the products made by state of Mato Grosso, however all its projects are designed the Kayapó, Panará, Tapayuna, Juruna and Trumaí and implemented by the indigenous communities indigenous communities through Instituto Raoni’s themselves. headquarters and branches. ■ Instituto Raoni develops activities that promote the In 2007, Instituto Raoni obtained the status of Civil sustainable use of biodiversity and train indigenous Society Organization of Public Interest (Organização da communities so that they can implement new Sociedade Civil de Interesse Público, OSCIP by its acronym income-generating alternatives. The institute’s main in Portuguese), a legal personhood title granted to activities focus on the extraction of non-timber forest associations and foundations by the Ministry of Justice. In products, such as seeds and forest spices, the organic order to meet the requirements to be an OSCIP, Instituto production of fruits and honey, fire management, and Raoni makes its main decisions through a general reforestation. They also foster cultural production, assembly, and every four years elects representatives to including handicrafts, registry of traditional music, the Executive Board. Five other members make up the dances, and festivities. In this context, Instituto Fiscal Board. Another 44 advisory board members manage, Raoni promotes the economic independence of the oversee, and monitor all of the institute’s activities. communities by strengthening the honey, pequi fruit,