Ethno-Conservation And Environmental Education In Brazil: Resistance And Learning In A Traditional Community

The existence of traditional peoples is often threatened by deterritorialization measures. In this context, we report a case study carried out in the riverine community of Sao Carlos do Jamari, located in the state of Rondonia-Brazilian Amazon-aiming to understand the interpretation made by these community members about the flood disaster suffered in 2014, and to comprehend which changes were fostered by the social learning processes experienced by this group in that context. The historic flooding at the community occurred in the context of the implementation of two large hydroelectric power plants on the Madeira River-Santo Antonio and Jirau. Interviews were conducted with seven residents and with a focus group of five people, besides direct observations to the daily life of the community and the course of informal conversations. Data reveal that a questioning interpretation prevails over the disaster, as it is related to the implementation of the hydroelectric power plants. Three areas of change in the community were also identified from the learning processes: the community-community, community-territory, and community-state relations. We argue for the need to strengthen the ethnoconservationist perspective in dialogue with Latin American environmental education.