The Xingu Indigenous Reserve, a 6.5-million acre expanse of pristine tropical forests and savannah located in central Brazil, is the site of ACT's first conservation program as well as its oldest partnerships in Brazil. 14 pre-Columbian indigenous groups occupy the reserve, which was created in 1961 by the government of Brazil to mitigate the degree to which its isolated communities would be disturbed or destroyed by colonizing forces. On balance, these groups continue to retain and practice a lifestyle much as they did prior to exposure to modern society. Nevertheless, the combination of the Reserve’s enormous area, a booming agricultural industry in the region, and a lack of federal resources to adequately enforce its boundaries from encroachment created a situa
tion that has put mounting pressures on the integrity of the reserve and the communities within it.
In 1999, ACT responded to the requests of several Xingu communities to help their leaders meet the challenges before them through the use of participatory ethnographic mapping to identify and map their regions and needs. Ultimately, these mapping efforts paved the way for an unprecedented effort to map the entire Xingu reserve in collaboration with the region’s 14 indigenous tribes with the approval of the Brazilian Indian Agency FUNAI.
Subsequently, ACT has used the data from the mapping efforts to help leading indigenous associations of the Xingu to formulate and enforce land management plans and to acquire the necessary technical and administrative skills to assume full responsibility for their conservation activities.
In 2007, ACT concluded that the leading indigenous organizations of the Xingu Indigenous Reserve were able to manage their own land and cultural conservation efforts, and passed on the assets of its regional field office in Canarana to the associations of the Waurá and Ikpeng.
This historic transfer culminated years of training, support, and close partnership with the indigenous leadership of the Xingu. ACT now serves in an advisory capacity for indigenous associations of the Xingu seeking assistance in conservation and sustainable development planning and implementation.
Selected Achievements
- In partnership with the area's 14 indigenous groups, ethnographic maps generated of the entire Xingu Indigenous Reserve and adjacent lands containing sacred sites totaling 7.5 million acres.
- Vigilance plan generated for the Reserve by the reserve’s communities with ACT guidance.
Current Activities
Management of Indigenous Lands
Xingu 
Management Plan
In 2007, ACT concluded that the leading indigenous organizations of the Xingu Indigenous Reserve were able to manage their own land and cultural conservation efforts, and passed on the assets of its regional field office in Canarana to the associations of the Waurá and Ikpeng. ACT continues to provide these and other associations with guidance in carrying out their vigilance activities.
Indigenous - Driven Land Protection
Park Guard 
Training
Members of several communities of the Xingu have received formal training as park guards through ACT' s certified Park Guard Training Course. ACT has also furnished indigenous guards with equipment necessary for border vigilance, including motorboats, GPS devices, two-way radios, and strategically placed vigilance posts. When combined with the communications equipment and facilities of the office space at a nearby border town, many communities of the Xingu are in a newfound position to actively manage and maintain the integrity of their territory, and can maintain dialogue with national authorities to call attention to new challenges.
