Is it possible to preserve and develop Amazon at the same time?

World
Europe

Several meters long and weighing hundreds of kilograms, Amazon's pirarucu was almost fished to extinction. But the creation of sustainable development reserves in Brazil has ensured the giant fish, and its indigenous hunters, are flourishing again.

Pirarucu. /VCG Photo

The resurgence of one of the world's largest freshwater fish is the result of Brazil's years-long efforts to combine the scientific and traditional know-how to preserve the country's rich biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods for indigenous communities in the Amazon.

Spanning more than three million hectares, the Mamiraua and neighboring Amana Sustainable Development Reserves in the upper reaches of the Amazon river were created in the 1990s by the state government.

They are among 39 such designated areas across Latin America's biggest country, home to more than half of the world's animal and plant species.

An extremely rare picture of an Amazon river dolphin urinating in the Amazon river in Rio Negro, Brazil. /VCG Photo

As the Amazon faces growing threats from illegal loggers, clandestine miners and aggressive farming businesses who have found their champion in recently elected far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, advocates believe these reserves are proof that it is possible to exploit natural resources in a way that does not harm the environment.

"The rainforest allows us to use it without affecting, or affecting very little, the way it works," Emiliano Ramalho, science and technical director of the government-backed Mamiraua Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI) told AFP on a recent trip to the Amazon.

"We have to change the concept that the rainforest can only bring benefits if it is felled."

"This socio-biodiversity is what makes the Amazon. Without it, the system doesn't function."

Great recovery

Mamiraua is a 40-minute boat ride from the nearest municipality of Tefe.

Set deep inside the Amazon, pink dolphins glide through the water, while birds of different colors produce a complex symphony as they soar over floating houses.

An extremely rare picture of an Amazon river dolphin in the Amazon river in Rio Negro, Brazil. /VCG Photo

Hidden in the trees guariba monkeys create a racket screeching from dawn to dusk, when huge mosquitoes begin to attack visitors.

A female adult jaguar at the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve in Uarini, Amazonas state, Brazil. /VCG Photo

Around 15,000 people live in the Mamiraua and Amana reserves. The majority are caboclo -- people of mixed Indian and European heritage -- who mainly live in floating or stilt houses due to fluctuations in the water level, which can top 10 meters (33 feet) between December and July.

Inhabitants support themselves by raising livestock using sustainable techniques such as rotational grazing or extracting the pulp from native fruits for sale, which is more profitable than selling them whole.

A female adult jaguar sits on top a tree at the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve in Uarini, Amazonas state, Brazil. /VCG Photo

Responsible fishing and handicrafts supplement their income.

Locals, human and animal, are reaping the benefits of their symbiotic relationship.

Since 1999, for example, the pirarucu population has gone from around 2,500 to more than 190,500 in 2018 after fishermen began tracking numbers and respecting reproductive periods and fishing quotas.

A Tucuxi river dolphin (Sotalia fluviatilis) at Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve in Amazonas state, Brazil. ‍/VCG Photo

Last year, more than 700 fishermen in the Mamiraua and Amana earned 1.57 million reais (about 430,000 U.S. dollars), according to a report.

Taking a dip in the Mamiraua Lake is tempting in the oppressive heat, but the resurgence of alligator numbers is a strong deterrent.

The melanosuchus niger alligator, the largest of its species in the Americas, was threatened with extinction in the 1980s due to demand for its meat and skin.

Drone view from the float where scientists stay during their research at Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve in Amazonas state, Brazil. /VCG Photo

"The recovery of the alligator population was due to the prohibition of hunting and the creation of reserves," said Barthira Resende, technical manager of the MSDI's alligator management plan.

Now, the Mamiraua has the largest concentration of alligators in Brazil largely thanks to the efforts of the indigenous communities.

An alligator at the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve in Uarini, Amazonas state, Brazil,

Inhabitants help by collecting data on the location of alligator sightings or their nests, which are used to set killing quotas to avoid over exploitation again.

"Bringing community members together in sustainable management is a conservation strategy," said Resende.

Afonso Carvalho, a leader of the Vila Alencar community on the shores of the Mamiraua Lake, said it is working.

"The pirarucu was very difficult (to find), the alligator too," said Carvalho, 68.

"There is now a great recovery."

Benefits for all

Decisions about how to manage the reserves are made by the communities in consultation with the MSDI, which conducts research and provides training for economic activities in the region.

"Templates like the Mamiraua reserve show that we can use the rainforest to obtain all kinds of benefits, as much in terms of economic development like education, for the whole country," said Ramalho.

"It is possible so long as we don't just take out the raw materials."

A heron at the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve in Uarini, Amazonas state, Brazil, March 7, 2018. /VCG Photo

Recently inhabitants have started to develop a community-based ecotourism industry that includes floating guesthouses highly sought after by foreign tourists.

It is proving to be a money-spinner. The Uakari lodge in the Mamiraua reserve has enjoyed an average annual turnover of 2.5 million reais in the past three years, says manager Pedro Nassar.

Some 40 percent of the earnings are invested in surveillance at the lodge and guides who take visitors out to watch birds, monkeys, and jaguars. The remainder is split between the communities.

A jaguar cub stands atop a tree during a flood at the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve in Uarini, Amazonas state, Brazil. /VCG Photo

But Ramalho worries that recent deep cuts to scientific research and education budgets will weaken their ability to protect the rainforest.

"From the point of view of preservation, it is very serious," he said.

"The Amazon is of fundamental importance for the functioning of the whole planet."

Carvalho said the indigenous population is doing what it can to preserve the fauna of the reserves. Hunting, he said, must be purposeful, controlled and limited.

"It is not predatory. The indigenous community respects the environment. " Carvalho said.

(Top image via VCG)

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at nature@cgtn.com.)

Source(s): AFP