Located in the still isolated northeastern state of Amapá, the indigenous communities of the pristine Tumucumaque Indigenous Reserve and the adjoining Rio Parú D’Este Reserve, home to the Tiriyó, Wayana, Apalaí and Kaxuyana peoples, observed how escalating encroachment in the form of illegal mining and logging threatened their lands and endangered their communities. Following the success of ACT's mapping initiative in the Xingu, communities of the Tumucumaque Indigenous Reserve and the Rio Parú D’Este Reserve expressed a desire for ACT to assist them in mapping their lands and developing their administrative and institutional capacities.
In 2004, ACT finished an extensive ethnographic map of reserve, the first of its kind for the region. Subsequently, the Tumucumaque chiefs gave ACT a mandate to continue to train their community members and build the capacity of their organizations to manage and protect their land. This enduring partnership led to the development of a first-of-its-kind training course for indigenous park guards. The park guard training experience has been so successful that in 2006, based on requests from federal and state managers of conservation units in Amapá, including the national environmental enforcement agency (IBAMA), ACT created a parallel course for representatives of regional state and NGO institutions. ACT's efforts have increased the ability of both our indigenous partners and government agencies in the region to judiciously manage the resources of this significant corner of the Amazon.
Selected Achievements
- Site of the first certified indigenous park guard training courses in the Amazon.
- Completion of ethnographic maps for the entire Tumucumaque Indigenous Reserve totaling 10 million acres in direct partnership with the area's 4 indigenous groups.
- Confirmed abandonment of the Santa Clara mining site, the only active mine in the Park, due to the pressure applied by over-flights, legal actions guided by ACT, and an ACT-coordinated meeting by indigenous representatives with government officials.
Current Activities
Indigenous Park Guard Training Course
In 2010, ACT held its sixth annual indigenous park guard certification training course. The IRF-certified course, coordinated by ACT and the regional indigenous association APITIKATXI, covers over 200 hours of training including practical and theoretical activities. Modules typically include environmental and indigenous law; general cartography and ethnocartography; environmental protection strategies & guidelines; first aid; fire management; and conflict resolution. The course objectives are to enable indigenous representatives to improve their protection activities in state, federal, and indigenous areas; to assist their dissemination of environmental and cultural information within their communities; and to improve their regional surveillance capacity.
State Institutional Park Guard Certification Training Course
ACT continues to conduct yearly sessions of its certified park guard course for representatives of Brazilian institutions involved in environmental and cultural conservation. The intensive twenty-day, 200-hour program includes a full spectrum of essential theory including botany, ecology, biodiversity conservation and wildlife management. This is complemented by a diverse range of essential field skills ranging from GPS use and mapping to survival skills, night patrols, and first aid response. Over the course's four-year history, over 190 Brazilian institutional representatives have been trained as guards with participants hailing from such prominent Brazilian institutions as the national environmental enforcement agencies IBAMA and SEMA, the national military and environmental police unit, the national firefighters' brigade, and the federal university of the state of Amapá. The courses have also enjoyed the participation of rangers from Portugal and Spain.
Training in Outboard Engine Repair
Water transportation is the primary means of transport within the Tumucumaque region. ACT has provided the indigenous guards and vigilance coordinators with boats equipped with outboard engines to facilitate transport through this rough terrain, helping them efficiently patrol and enforce reserve borders. The distances involved and the removal from population centers requires that the guards be able to independently troubleshoot aspects of basic small engine repair. Thus, ACT has provided workshops for indigenous park guards and other representatives to maintain and repair outboard engines.
Infrastructure Maintenance: Solar Panel Installation
Non-battery electrical power is necessary for maintaining various types of communication devices, posing a challenge in very remote regions like the Tumucumaque. ACT has helped its indigenous partners in Amapá to install, repair, and maintain solar panels for their community centers and administrative offices in order to provide low-impact, reliable electrical power.
Aerial and Land-based Reconnaissance Expeditions with Indigenous Partners
ACT provides periodic assistance to indigenous representatives of the Apalaí and Tiriyó communities to engage in over-flights over the Tumucumaque Indigenous Reserve and surrounding indigenous lands. Aerial reconnaissance provides an unparalleled opportunity to ascertain current local conditions and in particular to observe and document signs of illegal burning, logging, mining, or landing strips. Intermittent land-based expeditions are also conducted to identify illicit activities and to update risk maps. Such surveillance has resulted in the identification and subsequent closure of the last illegal mining operation in the reserve area.
Training in Remote Monitoring Technology - Google Earth
In 2008, ACT extended its training in Google Earth software to indigenous and state park guards of the Tumucumaque region. The training has enabled all participants to identify illicit activities in protected areas using the software, as well as to integrate GPS information into the application for more advanced assessments.
