Quais Fronteiras?

In the Brazilian Amazon different legal and ‘lived’ concepts of landoccupation and land-rights are conflicting and coexisting since the beginning of the 17th century. Due to various internal and external factors those controversies transformed into violent conflicts concerning access and use of land resources, since the mid-sixties. Recently, a further aggravating factor can be cited: the complexity and intransparency of national and international initiatives of conflict resolution and the growing number of conflicting norms of global regulation intensify (local) confusion. The debate on discrepancies and correspondence of forms of land-occupation of the Amazon region of Brazil with international norms and “global values” is being illustrated refering to the national and globalland-right-concepts for indigenous and black populations. This procedure leads to the following thesis: 1. Processes of “defronterization” (Brock & Albert, 1995) and of delimitation can provoke comparable phenomenons of social transformation; 2. In order to compare those processes, a change of perspective from the “first” to the “third” world is necessary; 3. Apparently equal instruments representing global confessions on human and minority rights might result in quite different outcomes depending on the respective historical, political, institutional and cultural circumstances of each place.Na Amazônia coexistem e conflitam, desde o início do século XVII, idéias divergentes dos direitos sobre a terra. Desde o início dos anos 60, do século atual, estas controvérsias têm causado conflitos abertos pelo acesso à terra e aos seus recursos. Recentemente a compreensão e a referência local de intervenções e, tentativas de conciliação nacionais e internacionais tem diminuído continuamente, principalmente por causa do alastramento do tema e da confusão crescente de tentativas de regulamentação multilaterais. O debate sobre conflitos e coincidências, respectivamente, das ocupações da terra na Amazônia com as normas e os valores globais dominantes e suas respectivas representações institucionais está sendo ilustrada com exemplos empíricos da política indígena e de minorias que levarão às seguintes teses: 1. Processos de defronterização e de delimitação podem provocar fenômenos parecidos em termos de uma transformação social; 2. Para poder comparar esses processos, é necessário mudar a perspectiva do primeiro para o assim chamado terceiro mundo, na hora de observar os fenômenos; 3. Aparentemente, instrumentos iguais nas suas normas e valores podem, sob diferentes condições históricas, políticas-institucionais e socioculturais conduzir à resultados muitos divergentes

Die Kriminalisierung gesellschaftlicher Transformationsprozesse: der Fall des brasilianischen Amazonasgebiets

''Jeder ist hier involviert - es ist unmöglich, sich rauszuhalten', sagt man in Abaetetuba, einem kleinen Städtchen im brasilianischen Amazonasgebiet, über den Zigaretten- und Drogenschmuggel. Da traditionelle Einkommensquellen oft nicht mehr ausreichen, werden legale Wirtschaftsaktivitäten um illegale erweitert. So schmuggeln Fischer auf ihren Fischereiexpeditionen Kokain oder Holzhändler nehmen zusätzlich Waffen in ihre Produktpalette auf. Anhand ausgewählter authentischer Fälle belegt Regine Schönenberg, dass Kriminalität durchaus keinen Übergangscharakter aufweist, wie es häufig angenommen wird, sondern Transformationsgesellschaften bereits 'nachhaltig' strukturiert. Den Nährboden für illegale Gewinnmaximierung sieht sie in Abhängigkeitsverhältnissen und Klientelismus auf der einen sowie Regulationslücken und schwachen ökonomischen Strukturen auf der anderen Seite. Gerade Gesetze, die zwar internationalen Normen und Abkommen gerecht werden, jedoch bei lokalen Bevölkerungen auf Unverständnis stoßen, führen fernab der Regierungszentren zur Ausbildung und Verfestigung von informellen Netzwerken. Ältere gesellschaftliche Strukturen verhindern die Annahme neuer Regeln ebenso wie fehlende legale Alternativen der Existenzsicherung. Der im Zuge der Globalisierung eingeforderte Wandel wirkt dann kriminogen. Die Autorin legt die Verflechtungen zwischen traditionellen, legalen und illegalen Wirtschaftsaktivitäten dar, die aus gesellschaftlichen Transformationsprozessen heraus entstehen. Dabei bezieht sie lokale und globale Dimensionen des Wandels aufeinander und beleuchtet die Ursachen und Effekte einer fortschreitenden Kriminalisierung. Die Ergebnisse ihrer umfassenden Feldforschung in Brasilien vermitteln neue und tiefe Einblicke in die Vernetzung von amazonischer und transnationaler Kriminalität.' (Autorenreferat

Inter- and transdisciplinary scenario construction to explore future land-use options in southern Amazonia

Our aim with this paper is to present a novel approach for developing story lines and scenarios by combining qualitative knowledge and quantitative data from different disciplines and discussing the results with relevant decision makers. This research strategy offers a solid foundation for perspectives into the future. The “laboratory” is the Brazilian Amazon, one of the hotspots of land-use change where local and global interests both collide and converge: local livelihoods are affected by regional and global climate change and by the loss of biodiversity caused by local and global economic interests in agro-industrial land use; such use contributes, in turn, to climate change. After decades of diverse policy interventions the question arises: What can we learn from past trajectories for a more sustainable development in the future? To answer this question, we combined qualitative story lines for the region, reviewed by local experts, with quantitative land-use scenarios, to study their regional and local manifestations in space. These results were then discussed again with local and national experts. Our findings suggest that in- depth knowledge of the diverging perspectives at a very local level is a fundamental prerequisite for downscaling global scenarios and upscaling local approaches to sustainable land-use management and thus, to producing communicable and applicable results

Conflicts over Land as a Risk for Social-Ecological Resilience: A Transnational Comparative Analysis in the Southwestern Amazon

People in the department of Madre de Dios/Peru, the state of Acre/Brazil, and the department of Pando/Bolivia experience similar conflicts over land, land use, and access to resources. At the same time, each conflict reveals distinct characteristics and dynamics, arising from its history, legal regulation, institutional (in-)capacities, and culturally diverse local populations. The aim of this paper is to better understand the main drivers of social-ecological conflicts over land in and around three protected areas in this transboundary region, known as MAP, and to analyze how (environmental) institutions influence these drivers. The paper is based on a literature review and expert interviews; it focuses on conflicts around (1) gold mining in Madre de Dios, (2) extensive cattle ranching in Acre, and (3) access to communal land in Pando. Using theories of conflict research, expanded by a political ecology perspective and insights from stakeholder and expert interviews, we find that the major conflict drivers are (1) land tenure and access to land and natural resources, (2) identity and lifestyle driven transformations, (3) state and market driven agendas, and (4) networked illegal and criminal activities. Through a comparative conflict analysis, we develop four recommendations to strengthen the creation of reflexive institutions that may be able to foster social-ecological resilience in the region: (1) The clarification of responsibilities between governance institutions and their financing; (2) the awareness raising for existing power structures and opening spaces for enhanced local participation; (3) the breaking of corruptive cycles while developing economically, ecologically, and socially sustainable livelihood opportunities; and (4) taking the continuous reproduction of illegal activities into account while clarifying responsibilities, raising awareness, and breaking corruptive cycles. The results of our research therefore not only contribute to a better understanding of conflicts in the MAP region and the wider scientific literature on social-ecological conflicts and governance, but it is also the first paper that identifies entry points and prerequisites for the transformation from reactive to reflexive institutions in Amazonian societies

Describing complex interactions of social-ecological systems for tipping point assessments: an analytical framework

Humans play an interconnecting role in social-ecological systems (SES), they are part of these systems and act as agents of their destruction and regulation. This study aims to provide an analytical framework, which combines the concept of SES with the concept of tipping dynamics. As a result, we propose an analytical framework describing relevant dynamics and feedbacks within SES based on two matrixes: the “tipping matrix” and the “cross-impact matrix.” We take the Southwestern Amazon as an example for tropical regions at large and apply the proposed analytical framework to identify key underlying sub-systems within the study region: the soil ecosystem, the household livelihood system, the regional social system, and the regional climate system, which are interconnected through a network of feedbacks. We consider these sub-systems as tipping elements (TE), which when put under stress, can cross a tipping point (TP), resulting in a qualitative and potentially irreversible change of the respective TE. By systematically assessing linkages and feedbacks within and between TEs, our proposed analytical framework can provide an entry point for empirically assessing tipping point dynamics such as “tipping cascades,” which means that the crossing of a TP in one TE may force the tipping of another TE. Policy implications: The proposed joint description of the structure and dynamics within and across SES in respect to characteristics of tipping point dynamics promotes a better understanding of human-nature interactions and critical linkages within regional SES that may be used for effectively informing and directing empirical tipping point assessments, monitoring or intervention purposes. Thereby, the framework can inform policy-making for enhancing the resilience of regional SES

Prioridades y desafíos en la cooperación ambiental entre Europa y América Latina: un comentario

En 1992, el antropólogo brasileño Alfredo Wagner inició un proyecto llama do “Carajás: La Guerra de los Mapas” (Alfredo Wagner, 1995, São Luís) con el objetivo de reconstruir, con el auxilio de mapas, los conflictos sociales existentes en la región de Carajás junto con los interesados locales. Rápidamente, los participantes se dieron cuenta de que no solamente no había suficiente espacio en los mapas para alojar todas las versiones de la realidad en conflicto, sino que también existían reivindicaciones que competían entre sí. Partiendo de esta base representada en los mapas, en un siguiente paso se trató de de-construir los conflictos con el fin de reconstruir un espacio social más equilibrado

Die Kriminalisierung gesellschaftlicher Transformationsprozesse : der Fall des brasilianischen Amazonasgebiets

"Jeder ist hier involviert - es ist unmöglich, sich \u27rauszuhalten", sagt man in Abaetetuba, einem kleinen Städtchen im brasilianischen Amazonasgebiet, über den Zigaretten- und Drogenschmuggel. Da traditionelle Einkommensquellen oft nicht mehr ausreichen, werden legale Wirtschaftsaktivitäten um illegale erweitert. So schmuggeln Fischer auf ihren Fischereiexpeditionen Kokain oder Holzhändler nehmen zusätzlich Waffen in ihre Produktpalette auf. Anhand ausgewählter authentischer Fälle belegt Regine Schönenberg, dass Kriminalität durchaus keinen Übergangscharakter aufweist, wie es häufig angenommen wird, sondern Transformationsgesellschaften bereits \u27nachhaltig\u27 strukturiert. Den Nährboden für illegale Gewinnmaximierung sieht sie in Abhängigkeitsverhältnissen und Klientelismus auf der einen sowie Regulationslücken und schwachen ökonomischen Strukturen auf der anderen Seite. Gerade Gesetze, die zwar internationalen Normen und Abkommen gerecht werden, jedoch bei lokalen Bevölkerungen auf Unverständnis stoßen, führen fernab der Regierungszentren zur Ausbildung und Verfestigung von informellen Netzwerken. Ältere gesellschaftliche Strukturen verhindern die Annahme neuer Regeln ebenso wie fehlende legale Alternativen der Existenzsicherung. Der im Zuge der Globalisierung eingeforderte Wandel wirkt dann kriminogen. Die Autorin legt die Verflechtungen zwischen traditionellen, legalen und illegalen Wirtschaftsaktivitäten dar, die aus gesellschaftlichen Transformationsprozessen heraus entstehen. Dabei bezieht sie lokale und globale Dimensionen des Wandels aufeinander und beleuchtet die Ursachen und Effekte einer fortschreitenden Kriminalisierung. Die Ergebnisse ihrer umfassenden Feldforschung in Brasilien vermitteln neue und tiefe Einblicke in die Vernetzung von amazonischer und transnationaler Kriminalität

Inter- and transdisciplinary scenario construction to explore future land-use options in southern Amazonia

Our aim with this paper is to present a novel approach for developing story lines and scenarios by combining qualitative knowledge and quantitative data from different disciplines and discussing the results with relevant decision makers. This research strategy offers a solid foundation for perspectives into the future. The "laboratory" is the Brazilian Amazon, one of the hotspots of land-use change where local and global interests both collide and converge: local livelihoods are affected by regional and global climate change and by the loss of biodiversity caused by local and global economic interests in agro-industrial land use; such use contributes, in turn, to climate change. After decades of diverse policy interventions the question arises: What can we learn from past trajectories for a more sustainable development in the future? To answer this question, we combined qualitative story lines for the region, reviewed by local experts, with quantitative land-use scenarios, to study their regional and local manifestations in space. These results were then discussed again with local and national experts. Our findings suggest that in-depth knowledge of the diverging perspectives at a very local level is a fundamental prerequisite for downscaling global scenarios and upscaling local approaches to sustainable land-use management and thus, to producing communicable and applicable results