New Perspectives on Mobility, Urbanisation and Resource Management in Riverine Amazônia

Abstract

In recent years, theAmazon has experienced simultaneous processes of urbanisation and creation of protected areas. Debates over the changing role of traditional peoples in the management of such areas have largely taken place in the absence of reliable information on these populations' connections to urban areas. We review the literature onAmazônia to explore how rural–urban mobility redefines patterns of resource use. The focus is primarily on riverine areas of theBrazilianAmazon. Connection to urban areas does not necessarily imply deep changes in production techniques, but induces new norms, rules and values around access to and management of resources. Rural–urban mobility challenges the capacity of local groups to maintain collective resource management, but on the other hand involves the reassertion of traditional territories and identities through social and economic networks.