Fernandes-Pinto, E.; Oliveira-Jnior, P. B. & Cordeiro, A. Z.; 2008.

THE EXTRACTIVE RESERVES A BRAZILIAN MODEL OF COMMUNITY

CONSERVATIONS AREAS. IN: XI International Congress Of Ethnobiology (ICE), de 25 a 30 de junho de 2008 - Cuzco/Peru.

THE EXTRACTIVE RESERVES

A BRAZILIAN MODEL OF COMMUNITY CONSERVED AREAS FERNANDES-PINTO, .1; OLIVEIRA-JNIOR, P. B. 2 & CORDEIRO, A. Z.3
ICMBIO CHICO MENDESS INSTITUTE FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION
DIUSP DIRECTORATE FOR CONSERVATION UNITS OF SUSTAINABLE USE AND
TRADICTIONAL PEOPLE
1

erikalencois@yahoo.com.br; paulo-oliveira.junior@icmbio.gov.br; 3azcordeiro@yahoo.com.br

Community Conserved Areas are considered a bold new frontier for conservation. Several studies
have shown that local communities play a critical role in conserving a variety of natural environments
and that the history of conservation and sustainable use in many areas is much older than governmentmanaged protected areas. Brazil is considered one of the richest countries in the world in biodiversity
and it also presents a great socio-cultural diversity; contemplated in different forms of social
organization, livelihoods, and of use and management of landscapes and natural resources.
Extractive Reserves (RESEX) are a protected area model unique to Brazil, which were proposed by
social movements of extractivists in the Amazon rain forest claiming land rights and a model of
development compatible with the conservation and sustainable use of the forests. RESEXs are
dominions of the federal government created upon the request of traditional populations for their use.
The purpose of these domains is to protect the livelihood and culture of extractivists, as well as to
ensure the sustainable use of the areas natural resources.
The objective of this paper is to analyze the current creation and management trends of Federal
RESEXs, gauging their contribution to the recognition and valuation of the countrys traditional
people and community conservation areas in Brazil. The information in this paper was generated by
analyzing official documents about Federal RESEXs, conducting interviews with local protagonists
and stakeholders, and based on the authors experience.
The first RESEXs were established in 1990; since then, the model has been extended from the
Amazon rain forest to other ecosystems. By March 2008, the number of officially created Federal
RESEXs had risen to 53, distributed among 14 Brazilian states and encompassing 10 million hectares,
directly benefiting more than 50 thousand families. The singularities of this category required the
implementation of administrative tools based on the reinforcement of community organization and on
the recognition of traditional knowledge and management practices. The strengthening of this category
of conservation unit, the recognition of traditional populations and their substantial role in

Fernandes-Pinto, E.; Oliveira-Jnior, P. B. & Cordeiro, A. Z.; 2008. THE EXTRACTIVE RESERVES A BRAZILIAN MODEL OF COMMUNITY
CONSERVATIONS AREAS. IN: XI International Congress Of Ethnobiology (ICE), de 25 a 30 de junho de 2008 - Cuzco/Peru.

environmental conservation, and continuing escalation of socio-environmental conflicts in the country

have led to a rising demand for the creation of RESEXs all over the country. There are currently 120
requests for the creation of RESEXs being analyzed and evaluated.
RESEXs represent one of the examples of paradigmatical change in the model of environmental
management and economical development, starting from local experiences. They are an innovative
category of Protected Area in Brazil, where the intrinsic character of the relationship between society
and nature is explicit. Besides environmental conservation, the main objectives of the creation of new
RESEXs are to promote sustainable development and ensure the social inclusion of traditional
populations.
RESEXs represent the recognition of the rights of these communities to their original territories, of
their important role in environmental conservation, and the importance of maintaining traditional
common pool resource management strategies. In a context in which recent research has identified a
contingent of more than 45 million people classified as traditional individuals or communities, the
RESEX has gained validity and significance as an alternative model of development compatible with
Brazils socioenvironmental reality.

ice2008@andes.org.pe