Training Program Discusses Challenges of Preserving Indigenous Territories

Training Program Discusses Challenges of Preserving Indigenous Territories
Photo: CTI
Program is part of a project supported by PCAB and developed by Indigenist Work Center

August, 2022— The training program for local environmental agents  addressed topics such as land rights and the challenges related to land preservation. It was held in July at Centro Timbira de Ensino e Pesquisa Penxwyj Hempejxà, located in the municipality of Carolina, in southern Maranhão. Another module under the same program will be held this year.

Around 70 participants attended the capacity building, including Indigenous men, women, youth, leaders, and elders representing six Timbira peoples, namely: Krikati, Gavião, Kanela Apanjekrá, Kanela Memortumré, Apinajé, and Krahô. The program aimed to train Indigenous environmental agents, with a focus on land management and use. 

This initiative is part of the “Integrated Environmental and Territorial Management in Eastern Amazon Indigenous Lands” project, created through a cooperation agreement between the Partnership for the Conservation of Amazon Biodiversity (PCAB), USAID/Brazil, and the Indigenist Work Center (CTI).

The project also involves the Society, Population and Nature Institute (ISPN), the Wyty-Catë Organization of Timbira Communities of Maranhão and Tocantins, the Maranhão Indigenous Organizations Network (COAPIMA), and the Maranhão Indigenous Women Network (AMIMA). 

“These meetings provide an opportunity for youth, elders, and women from Indigenous communities to engage in deep discussions on the role they play in monitoring and conserving their territories. During the program, they watch videos, engage in discussions, and read texts that rescue the history and struggles of their peoples,” says Pollyana Mendonça, responsible for monitoring CTI projects. 

The Timbira peoples refer to Indigenous environmental agents as Mentuwajê, which means young environmental defenders. 

A 2nd Mapping Improvement and Georeferencing Systematization Workshop for Apanjekrá and Memorturmré environmental agents will be held in September, also under the PCAB and CTI partnership. Its final product will be a publication on the territorial and environmental management of the Porquinhos and Kanela Indigenous Lands. 

Learn more about the project on the CTI website.