Reimagining Land Management in the Amazon Using Native Techniques

The Amazon Rainforest covers over 3 million square miles throughout the Northern half of South America, spreads out over 10 countries, and contains some of Earth's most diverse biodiversity. With tens of thousands of species of plants and animals, the land itself protects the planet by acting as one of its largest natural carbon sinks. The rainforest also hosts hundreds of native people groups, together with millions of peoples of European descent. However, this richness and all the benefits it brings are under constant threat from all sides, as ranchers, poachers, miners, and settlers scramble to take as much of the Amazon as they can. It is in this time of great peril for the rainforest that we must use all resources available, and not just look forward, but backward as well. The indigenous people who have lived under the Amazon's canopy for millennia may offer some solutions to the current problems. With thousands of years of experience, the natives have amassed knowledge that allows them to live within the rainforest in a far less destructive manner than most others. While imperfect, their methods of land management and preservation offer insight into traditions that allowed the Amazon to flourish since before recorded history. This presentation seeks to understand the Amazon and the people who call it home and to learn from them. In this manner, the land management techniques of the indigenous Amazonians may be used as a framework to preserve what remains of the Amazon for years to come.