Abstract
Abstract Despite evidence about the contribution of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) to conservation, prevailing strategies still seek their separation from nature, often triggering conflicts. Current pledges to expand global protected area coverage suggest a need for the critical analysis of governance quality and the way conservation interacts with the well‐being of IPLCs. We present the case of Catimbau National Park in the Caatinga dry forest of northeast Brazil, where we explored connections between the well‐being of IPLCs and landscape through different values, practices and institutions, and perceptions of how environmentally just the park's governance has been. The well‐being of IPLCs is inextricably connected with the Caatinga landscape, through multiple place‐based relational values that, although differing between Indigenous and non‐indigenous inhabitants, have in both cases developed over generations. Although often framed as degraders, IPLCs exhibit a strong motivation to conserve, reflected through local institutions including forest gardens, sustainable use regulations, restoration activities and prevention of external encroachment. The strict form of protected area implemented at Catimbau, instead of a locally led or sustainable use reserve, explicitly targeted the resettlement of IPLCs and livelihood reorientation. These imposed objectives have clashed with a way of life in this peopled landscape and precluded local stewardship on a larger scale. Long‐term conflict arose through governance deficiencies which sparked multidimensional injustices. These include not only the misrecognition of local values and customary institutions but also the lack of procedures for consent or decision‐making influence, plus distributional harms including tenure insecurity and denied development assistance. Development and conservation strategies must reject narratives about poor, resource‐dependent rural communities and embrace the opportunities that local knowledge and institutions bring for effective conservation. As conservation efforts are expanded post‐2020, the people of the Caatinga and beyond must be recognised as embedded and a key part of any solution. In strict protected areas like Catimbau, where social conflict constrains their ability to function, seeking legal changes in governance type can be onerous. However, we describe other local‐level actions to build relationships and agency that may foster transitions towards better governance, and just treatment of IPLCs. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Highlights
The contribution of Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ (IPLCs) values, practices and institutions to the conservation of nature is increasingly supported by evidence (Blackman et al, 2017; Bridgewater et al, 2015; Dawson et al, 2021; Garnett et al, 2018; Persha et al, 2011; Schleicher et al, 2017), and over time has become an accepted norm in global policy processes (Borrini-Feyerabend et al, 2013; Brosius, 2004; Hockings et al, 2019; Posey, 1999)
Keywords Conservation, equity, environmental justice, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, protected areas, stewardship, wellbeing, tropical dry forest. 100 101 Acknowledgements We are very grateful to all the members of Indigenous and local communities and ICMBio staff at Catimbau National Park for giving their time, energy and sharing their views to make this research possible
Our study focuses on villages within Catimbau National Park, including those inhabited by Indigenous Kapinawá and others by long-term residents who do not self-identify as Indigenous
Summary
Locais (PICLs) para a conservação, as estratégias predominantes ainda buscam sua separação da natureza, muitas vezes desencadeando conflitos. Apresentamos o caso do Parque Nacional do Catimbau na floresta seca da Caatinga no nordeste do Brasil, onde exploramos as conexões entre o bem-estar das PICLs e a paisagem por meio de diferentes valores, práticas e instituições, e percepções de quão ambientalmente justa tem sido a gestão do parque. 3. O bem-estar das PICLs está intrinsecamente ligado à paisagem da Caatinga, por meio de múltiplos valores relacionais de base local que, embora diferentes entre indígenas e não indígenas, em ambos os casos se desenvolveram ao longo de gerações. Embora muitas vezes classificadas como degradantes, as PICLs exibem uma forte motivação para conservar, refletida por meio de instituições locais, incluindo cultivos florestais, regulamentações de uso sustentável, atividades de restauração e prevenção de invasões externas. Keywords Conservation, equity, environmental justice, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, protected areas, stewardship, wellbeing, tropical dry forest. 100
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