Amazonian Indigenous Socioecologies and the Rethinking of Biodiversity Conservation

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About this Research Topic

Submission deadlines

  1. Manuscript Summary Submission Deadline 15 December 2025 | Manuscript Submission Deadline 27 April 2026

  2. This Research Topic is currently accepting articles.

Background

The Amazon rainforest, home to some of the highest levels of biodiversity on Earth, as well as the planet’s largest river basin, owes much of its ecological richness to the stewardship of Indigenous peoples. For more than 12,000 years, these communities have developed complex management systems which integrate ecological dynamics into cosmological perspectives and social systems.

Calls for incorporating Indigenous knowledge into conservation practices have gained momentum in recent scientific and policy discussions, however these efforts have rarely engaged with deeper ontological and cosmopolitical issues, and how these in turn may be deeply enmeshed with Amazonian landscapes and human histories.

This Research Topic weaves the rich tapestry of Indigenous knowledge into the broader narrative of biodiversity conservation. It emphasizes the necessity of collaborative approaches that respect and integrate Indigenous perspectives and socioecological systems into conservation strategies.

Our goal is to incorporate Amazonian Indigenous perspectives into our understanding of what is often termed "biodiversity" and "conservation". Specifically, we aim to highlight the interplay between indigenous sociocultural elements—such as cosmologies, social networks, and management practices—and ecological processes like forest succession, landscape transformation, and territorialization. By showcasing diverse Indigenous worldviews on biodiversity and conservation, this effort intends to redefine conservation planning and ensure that Indigenous peoples are engaged as co-authors in scientific endeavours. The issue will include co-authored contributions by prominent figures in the social and natural sciences as well as Indigenous researchers, leaders and intellectuals.

In sum, the Research Topic clarifies these intricate relationships, explores Indigenous contributions to conservation strategies, and promotes an inclusive platform for collaborative research. To gain a better understanding of how the perspectives of Amazonian Indigenous peoples can rethink biodiversity conservation, the Research Topic covers the following themes:

o Biocultural conservation: integrating conservation efforts with Indigenous language and cultural preservation, informed by local ecological knowledge.

o Cosmological relationships: presenting Indigenous cosmologies and their relationships with ecological processes and conservation through a cosmopolitical lens.

o Historical ecology: examining how Indigenous peoples have historically transformed landscapes through management practices informed by their perspectives.

o Knowledge systems: analysing indigenous ways of knowing and developing strategies for translating and communicating this knowledge to non-indigenous peoples;

o Landscape archaeology: discussing recent archaeological discoveries shedding light on ancient Indigenous-population landscapes and their sociocultural dynamics; and

o Methodological and theoretical exchange: investigating the interfaces and differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous scientific knowledge to propose methodological and theoretical dialogue, building on existing synergies while respecting areas of incommensurability.

Contributions may include original research articles (including case studies), reviews, methodological papers, or perspectives.

To highlight the main issues that we expect to be addressed in this research topic, we prepared a glossary of terms that can help authors target their contributions:

Ancestral/cultural forests – these are mature forests in the vicinity of ancient, abandoned areas of swidden fallows, gardens or house-yards, where modern villagers occasionally return to harvest resources (Franco-Moraes et al. 2019).

Biocultural conservation – conservation actions made in the service of sustaining the biophysical and sociocultural components of dynamic, interacting, and interdependent social–ecological systems (Gavin et al. 2015).

Cosmology – set of narratives that explain the origin, organization and functioning of the cosmos (Viveiros de Castro 2002).

Cosmopolitical networks – the way indigenous notions of human lives connect people in a web of social-ecological relations with other species, with the forest, with the rivers, and with the territory (Levis et al. 2024).

Historical Ecology – a research program concerned with the interactions through time between societies and environments and the consequences of these interactions for understanding the formation of contemporary and past cultures and landscapes (Balée 2006).

Landscape transformation – the action of transforming landscapes through traditional management practices, including changes in the floristic abundance, composition and structure of an area (Balée 2006).

Management practices – the process of making and effectuating decisions about the use and conservation of forest resources within a local territory (Wiersum 1997).

Non-human beings – all beings that are not humans but that can have human attributes, such as culture, feelings and knowledge. These non-human beings can include animals, plants, trees, mushrooms, spirits, among others (Descola 2005).

Social-ecological system – a complex adaptive system where social and biophysical agents are interacting at multiple temporal and spatial scales (Janssen & Ostrom 2006).

Social relationships – personal (e.g., zeal, hostility and reciprocity) and group (e.g., politics, hierarchy and kinship) relations among people themselves or among people and non-human beings (Descola 2005).

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) – a cumulative body of knowledge, practice, and belief, evolving by adaptive processes and handed down through generations by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and with their environment (Berkes et al. 2000).

Worldview – a conceptual-theoretical model that explains the origin of the universe and on which myths, norms, rituals and oral histories of each society are based (Descola 2005). Worldviews provide the interpretation of the observations of the world around us and include elements such as religions, cosmologies, ethics and belief systems (Franco-Moraes et al. 2021)
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Segue abaixo a versão em português:

Socioecologias Indígenas Amazônicas e a Reconfiguração da Conservação da Biodiversidade

A floresta amazônica, que abriga alguns dos maiores níveis de biodiversidade do planeta, assim como a maior bacia hidrográfica do mundo, deve grande parte de sua riqueza ecológica ao manejo histórico dos povos indígenas. Há mais de 12 mil anos, essas comunidades desenvolveram sistemas complexos de gestão que integram as dinâmicas ecológicas às perspectivas cosmológicas e aos sistemas sociais.

Os apelos para incorporar o conhecimento indígena às práticas de conservação têm ganhado força nos debates científicos e políticos recentes. No entanto, tais esforços raramente consideram questões ontológicas e cosmopolíticas mais profundas, que por sua vez estão fortemente entrelaçadas às paisagens amazônicas e às histórias humanas.

Este ''Tópico de Pesquisa'' entrelaça o rico conjunto do conhecimento indígena à narrativa mais ampla da conservação da biodiversidade. Ele enfatiza a necessidade de abordagens colaborativas que respeitem e integrem as perspectivas indígenas e seus sistemas socioecológicos nas estratégias de conservação.

Nosso objetivo é incorporar as perspectivas indígenas amazônicas na compreensão do que geralmente é chamado de “biodiversidade” e “conservação”. Especificamente, buscamos destacar as interações entre elementos socioculturais indígenas; como cosmologias, redes sociais e práticas de manejo; e processos ecológicos como sucessão florestal, transformação da paisagem e territorialização. Ao apresentar diversas visões de mundo indígenas sobre biodiversidade e conservação, este esforço pretende redefinir o planejamento da conservação e garantir que os povos indígenas sejam engajados como coautores em empreendimentos científicos. A edição incluirá contribuições coassinadas por figuras de destaque das ciências sociais e naturais, bem como por pesquisadores, líderes e intelectuais indígenas.

Em resumo, este Tópico de Pesquisa esclarece essas relações complexas, explora as contribuições indígenas para as estratégias de conservação e promove uma plataforma inclusiva para pesquisa colaborativa.

Para ampliar a compreensão sobre como as perspectivas dos povos indígenas amazônicos podem repensar a conservação da biodiversidade, o Tópico de Pesquisa abrange os seguintes temas:

o Conservação biocultural: integração dos esforços de conservação com a preservação das línguas e culturas indígenas, informada pelo conhecimento ecológico local.

o Relações cosmológicas: apresentação das cosmologias indígenas e de suas conexões com processos ecológicos e conservação sob uma lente cosmopolítica.

o Ecologia histórica: análise de como os povos indígenas transformaram historicamente as paisagens por meio de práticas de manejo orientadas por suas perspectivas.

o Sistemas de conhecimento: estudo das formas indígenas de conhecer e desenvolvimento de estratégias para traduzir e comunicar esse conhecimento a não indígenas.

o Arqueologia da paisagem: discussão de descobertas arqueológicas recentes que lançam luz sobre as paisagens de populações indígenas antigas e suas dinâmicas socioculturais.

o Trocas metodológicas e teóricas: investigação das interfaces e diferenças entre o conhecimento científico indígena e não indígena, propondo diálogos metodológicos e teóricos que explorem sinergias existentes ao mesmo tempo em que respeitem áreas de incomensurabilidade.

As contribuições podem incluir artigos originais de pesquisa (inclusive estudos de caso), revisões, artigos metodológicos ou perspectivas.

Para destacar as principais questões que esperamos ver abordadas neste Tópico de Pesquisa, preparamos um glossário de termos que pode ajudar os autores a direcionar suas contribuições:

Florestas ancestrais/culturais – florestas maduras situadas nas proximidades de áreas antigas e abandonadas de roçados de coivara, hortas ou quintais, às quais moradores atuais ocasionalmente retornam para coletar recursos (Franco-Moraes et al. 2019).

Conservação biocultural – ações de conservação voltadas à manutenção dos componentes biofísicos e socioculturais de sistemas socioecológicos dinâmicos, interdependentes e em constante interação (Gavin et al. 2015).

Cosmologia – conjunto de narrativas que explicam a origem, a organização e o funcionamento do cosmos (Viveiros de Castro 2002).

Redes cosmopolíticas – forma como as noções indígenas de vida humana conectam pessoas em uma teia de relações socioecológicas com outras espécies, com a floresta, os rios e o território (Levis et al. 2024).

Ecologia histórica – programa de pesquisa voltado para as interações ao longo do tempo entre sociedades e ambientes, e as consequências dessas interações para a compreensão da formação de culturas e paisagens contemporâneas e passadas (Balée 2006).

Transformação da paisagem – ação de modificar paisagens por meio de práticas tradicionais de manejo, incluindo mudanças na abundância, composição e estrutura florística de uma área (Balée 2006).

Práticas de manejo – processo de tomar e implementar decisões sobre o uso e a conservação dos recursos florestais dentro de um território local (Wiersum 1997).

Seres não humanos – todos os seres que não são humanos, mas que podem possuir atributos humanos, como cultura, sentimentos e conhecimento. Esses seres podem incluir animais, plantas, árvores, cogumelos, espíritos, entre outros (Descola 2005).

Sistema socioecológico – sistema adaptativo complexo no qual agentes sociais e biofísicos interagem em múltiplas escalas temporais e espaciais (Janssen & Ostrom 2006).

Relações sociais – relações pessoais (ex.: zelo, hostilidade, reciprocidade) e coletivas (ex.: política, hierarquia, parentesco) entre pessoas, ou entre pessoas e seres não humanos (Descola 2005).

Conhecimento ecológico tradicional (TEK) – corpo cumulativo de conhecimento, práticas e crenças, transmitido entre gerações por processos culturais adaptativos, sobre as relações entre os seres vivos (incluindo humanos) e seu ambiente (Berkes et al. 2000).

Cosmovisão – modelo conceitual-teórico que explica a origem do universo e fundamenta mitos, normas, rituais e histórias orais de cada sociedade (Descola 2005). As cosmovisões oferecem interpretações sobre o mundo ao redor e incluem elementos como religiões, cosmologias, éticas e sistemas de crenças (Franco-Moraes et al. 2021).

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Keywords: Amazon rainforest, biocultural conservation, historical ecology, Indigenous cosmologies;, Indigenous knowledge, biocultural conservation;

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