Waimiri Atroari (Kinja) indigenous governance and resistance: implications for conservation in the Central Brazilian Amazon

Introduction

Habitat degradation and biodiversity loss in the Amazon have intensified due to expanding urbanization, deforestation, mining, infrastructure development, and agricultural expansion (Albert et al., 2023; Berenguer et al., 2024). These processes have generated increasing pressures on Indigenous territories, threatening both ecological integrity and the continuity of Indigenous ways of life (Finer et al., 2008; Rorato et al., 2021). Across the Amazon biome, large-scale economic and infrastructure projects have contributed to persistent environmental degradation while simultaneously affecting Indigenous peoples’ health, territorial autonomy, and sociocultural practices (Carvalho, 1982; Roquetti et al., 2024).

At the same time, extensive evidence demonstrates the importance of Indigenous territories for biodiversity conservation and climate regulation in the Amazon. Indigenous Territories frequently function as barriers against deforestation and environmental degradation, maintaining extensive areas of relatively preserved forest and contributing to the reduction of atmospheric emissions (Prist et al., 2023; Rorato et al., 2021; Schwartzman and Zimmerman, 2005). These conservation outcomes are closely associated with Indigenous systems of territorial governance, including access control, regulation of resource use, environmental monitoring, and collective management practices (Berkes, 2007; Ostrom, 1990). However, such governance systems often operate under conditions of strong political and economic inequalities particularly when external actors impose infrastructure and extractive projects on Indigenous territories, limiting the autonomy of the communities (Li, 2007; Zhouri and Oliveira, 2007).

From many Indigenous perspectives, conservation is not understood as a separate environmental activity, but as part of an integrated socioecological system linking territory, subsistence, governance, spirituality, and cultural continuity (Dawson et al., 2024). In this context, biodiversity conservation depends directly on the maintenance of Indigenous territorial autonomy and social organization. Berkes (2007) argues that effective conservation strategies must address not only ecological concerns, but also the needs, knowledge systems, and governance practices of local communities.

In this study, we examine how the Waimiri Atroari Indigenous people, who refer to themselves as Kinja, hereafter Kinja, articulate environmental conservation through territorial governance in the Brazilian Amazon. We argue that biodiversity protection within the Waimiri Atroari Indigenous Territory (TIWA) emerges from the integration of cultural practices, territorial surveillance, adaptive management, and political organization. Particular attention is given to how the Kinja respond to external pressures associated with infrastructure projects, including the BR-174 highway, mining, and an energy transmission line, while trying to maintain territorial integrity and sociocultural continuity.

Methods

We adopted a qualitative community case study approach to examine how environmental conservation emerges through Indigenous territorial governance in the Waimiri Atroari Indigenous Territory (TIWA). We focus on the Kinja as a case of Indigenous environmental governance operating under sustained pressures associated with infrastructure development, resource extraction, and territorial transformation.

Our analysis draws upon long-term professional engagement with the Waimiri Atroari Program (PWA), technical and environmental monitoring reports produced between 1988 and 2026, published literature addressing the Kinja and the environmental history of the territory, and the lived experiences and validation of Kinja co-authors. Together, these sources provided complementary perspectives on territorial governance, environmental monitoring, resource management, and responses to external pressures.

We focused on actions related to (1) territorial governance, (2) cultural practices associated with natural resource management, and (3) responses to the environmental impacts of infrastructure developments within or adjacent to the territory. Within the latter category, we prioritized initiatives that emerged from community concerns regarding environmental quality and biodiversity conservation. We also examined cultural practices involving the direct use of natural resources for subsistence and the construction of traditional houses mydy, as these examples illustrate how the Kinja have maintained their cultural traditions while adaptively managing natural resources in the face of population growth and increasing external pressures on their territory.

Regarding the historical context, we drew upon accounts documented in reports and books by the indigenist Porfírio Carvalho (Carvalho, 1982, 2015), based on his interactions with the Kinja beginning in the early 1970s. We also consulted additional publications addressing Kinja livelihoods, territorial transformations, and the impacts of development projects over time (e.g. Blos and Lima, 2020; Cirino and da Silveira, 2016; ISA, 2017).

Information on wildlife road mortality and mitigation measures was derived from fauna monitoring reports archived by the PWA, the authors’ direct involvement in monitoring activities, and relevant studies (Costa, 2018; Teixeira et al., 2022; Medeiros et al., 2025; Abra et al., 2026). Finally, we describe Kinja participation in the environmental monitoring of the Manaus–Boa Vista transmission line project, emphasizing actions related to fauna and flora conservation, as well as environmental quality monitoring and management.

Context

The Kinja people: history, territory, and resistance

The Kinja inhabit a protected territory of approximately 2,586,911 hectares between the states of Amazonas and Roraima in the Brazilian Amazon (Figure 1). The growing population currently totals 2,738 people distributed across multiple villages throughout the TIWA (PWA, 2026). The recent history of the Kinja is marked by violent territorial interventions associated with state-led infrastructure expansion during the Brazilian military dictatorship (Carvalho, 1982). During the 1970s and 1980s, the construction of the BR-174 highway through their territory generated widespread social disruption, disease transmission, and armed attacks, resulting in a severe demographic decline. Population estimates indicate that approximately 88% of the Kinja population died during this period, leaving only 374 individuals by 1987 (PWA, 2026; ISA, 2017).

Subsequent decades were characterized by additional large-scale interventions affecting the TIWA. Hydroelectric development, mining activities, and transportation infrastructure altered forest continuity, flooded extensive areas, and intensified external pressures on the Kinja’s territory (Carvalho, 1982; Schwade and Reis, 2012). Despite these transformations, the Kinja maintained territorial occupation and progressively strengthened mechanisms of environmental monitoring and territorial protection.

The Waimiri Atroari Program (PWA) was formally established in 1988 as a compensatory measure associated with the construction of the Balbina Hydroelectric Dam (UHE Balbina) (PWA, 2026). The formation of the reservoir in 1989 flooded approximately 30,000 hectares of the TIWA, including areas used for hunting, gathering construction materials, living, and sites of cultural and spiritual importance (ISA, 2017). The project also generated significant ecological changes affecting local fauna, flora, and hydrological dynamics, and has been widely recognized as a major socio-environmental impact case in the Amazon with low energy efficiency (Fearnside, 1989, 2005).

In response to these predicted impacts, the PWA emerged through decisive actions by Indigenous leaders and the indigenist Porfírio Carvalho, and negotiations with FUNAI and Eletrobras/Eletronorte (ISA, 2017; Blos and Lima, 2020). The program is currently structured through a formal agreement among Eletrobras/Eletronorte, FUNAI, and the Waimiri Atroari Association (ACWA), supporting initiatives related to health, education, food production, territorial surveillance, environmental protection, administration, and cultural documentation. Among these components, the environmental protection and surveillance subprograms play a central role in maintaining the ecological integrity of the TIWA (PWA, 2026). These actions support not only biodiversity conservation, but also the sociocultural continuity and territorial autonomy of the Kinja. In this context, conservation is best understood as an outcome of Indigenous territorial governance rather than as an isolated environmental objective.

Conservation in practice: indigenous governance and strategies

The Kinja have played a central role in conserving an extensive portion of the Amazon rainforest, evidenced by the contrast between the environmental integrity of their territory and the degradation observed in adjacent areas (Figure 1B). This pattern reflects a consistent system of territorial management and protection sustained by continuous dedication. In this context, the forest is recognized not only as a material basis for subsistence, but also as a structuring element of their way of life, guiding resource-use and management practices that favor the maintenance of biodiversity and ecological processes.

Programmatic elements

Territorial surveillance and control

Environmental conservation within the TIWA is closely associated with continuous territorial surveillance and control conducted by the Kinja (Cirino and da Silveira, 2016). Through the surveillance subprogram of the PWA, Indigenous inspection teams systematically monitor river systems, forest boundaries, and the BR-174 highway corridor using boats, vehicles, and foot patrols. These actions aim to prevent illegal hunting, fishing, logging, and extraction of forest resources, activities that directly threaten biodiversity and territorial integrity.

Monitoring strategies vary according to patterns of territorial access. Along river systems, surveillance intensifies during the dry season, when access by non-Indigenous fishers becomes easier and pressure on aquatic resources increases. Inspection teams seek to prevent illegal fishing activities and the capture of turtles and turtle eggs within the territory. Along forest boundaries, extensive patrols are conducted on foot to identify signs of invasion or unauthorized extraction activities.

The BR-174 highway requires permanent monitoring due to the flow of vehicles crossing the TIWA. In addition to controlling unauthorized access and environmental infractions, inspectors regularly collect solid waste discarded along the highway. Waste management has become a recurrent environmental challenge, despite the installation of warning signs and previous educational initiatives targeting drivers and passengers. Materials collected include plastic packaging, tires, bottles, food waste, and disposable products, all of which may contaminate water systems, attract wildlife, and increase the risk of roadkill. The highway also generates additional environmental risks associated with vehicle accidents and hazardous cargo transport. During such events, Kinja inspectors monitor containment procedures implemented by external response teams to minimize environmental contamination. Inspectors additionally remove fallen trees from road sections to reduce safety risks and prevent secondary impacts.

These surveillance practices demonstrate that conservation within the TIWA depends on maintaining continuous territorial control capable of responding to multiple forms of external pressure. Environmental protection, in this context, is inseparable from Indigenous governance and everyday territorial management.

Management of BR-174 impacts

The BR-174 highway remains one of the principal sources of environmental pressure within the TIWA, generating long-term impacts on wildlife, forest connectivity, and territorial dynamics. Since the paving of the highway within the territory, in 1997, the Kinja established a systematic fauna roadkill monitoring program, later strengthened through a partnership with the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM) in 2003 (Abra et al., 2026; Costa, 2018; Medeiros et al., 2025). Currently, approximately 20,000 animal roadkill have been recorded by the Kinja and PWA.

Monitoring data has supported the development of mitigation strategies aimed at reducing habitat fragmentation and facilitating wildlife movement across the highway corridor. Beginning in 2005, vegetation management practices were implemented to promote the formation of natural canopy connections between forest edges on opposite sides of the road (Figure 2D). More than 30 natural canopy bridges have since been established within the TIWA (Teixeira et al., 2022). Additional actions include the cultivation of native seedlings suitable for canopy connectivity and the training of vegetation maintenance teams contracted by the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (DNIT). In 2022, the Reconecta Project expanded these mitigation efforts through the installation of 30 artificial canopy bridges at 15 locations selected in collaboration with the Kinja community (Figure 2E). Developed through partnerships involving the Smithsonian Institution, UFAM, and the PWA, the initiative aimed to increase functional connectivity for arboreal species and reduce the ecological effects of habitat fragmentation caused by the highway (Abra et al., 2026).

Nighttime traffic restrictions constitute another important mitigation measure within the TIWA. Passenger vehicles and trucks carrying non-perishable goods are prohibited from circulating between 6:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m., while vehicles transporting perishable products may enter until 10:00 p.m (Medeiros et al., 2025). The restriction seeks to reduce wildlife mortality, particularly among nocturnal species, while also improving safety conditions for drivers and the local community. Originally implemented during the military period, nighttime access control was later offered to the Kinja, which decided to maintain this measure considering the environmental and territorial importance (Cirino and da Silveira, 2016).

Additional measures include warning signs informing drivers about wildlife crossings and informational panels displaying updated roadkill statistics (Figures 2A, B). Together, these actions illustrate how the Kinja combine distinct measures and adaptive management to mitigate the long-term negative impacts of infrastructure imposed on their territory.

Monitoring mining impacts

In 1982, the Kinja territory was once again invaded with the installation of a mining company for cassiterite extraction (Carvalho, 1982). In this context, Decree 68.907/71, which demarcated the Waimiri Atroari reserve, was revoked and its extent reduced to enable the installation of the Taboca S/A mining company, which also led to the opening of an access road within the TIWA (Blos and Lima, 2020; Carvalho, 1982; Da Silva Filho, 2014). Since the 1980s, the Kinja have reported profound transformations in the Alalaú River, along which approximately 18 villages are located and which they directly depend upon for fish resources, fauna, and native fruits for subsistence. Between 1989 and 1993, sediment dams belonging to the mining company collapsed (Oliveira, 1994), worsening environmental impacts in the region.

More recently, since 2020, the Kinja have observed the death of riparian forests near the Tiaraju River, a tributary of the Alalaú River whose headwaters are located in the mining area. In addition, they report odors in the water, itching after fishing activities, and the appearance of dead animals such as river dolphins and turtles. Faced with this scenario of insecurity, concern, and significant changes in their community routines, the Kinja maintain permanent environmental monitoring and inspection actions, recording information daily and forwarding it to FUNAI and the PWA, which then submit complaints to the Brazilian Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office. In this context, conservation actions undertaken by the Kinja face strong limitations due to the lack of effective control over external actors.

Integration of knowledge systems and resource management

Conservation is also expressed in everyday practices of natural resource use, guided by knowledge transmitted across generations and adapted to contemporary contexts. Hunting takes place to provide food and support daily activities and festivities, during which large, medium, and small animals such as tapirs, deer, peccaries, birds, fish, and turtles are fully utilized (De Souza-Mazurek et al., 2000). For each type of prey, the Kinja use specific arrows that, together with other hunting knowledge, are learned from childhood. In addition, hunting occurs only for essential reasons, reducing unnecessary pressure on fauna.

Although traditional hunting of wild animals is an integral cultural practice and means of survival for the Waimiri Atroari (De Souza-Mazurek et al., 2000), concerns have emerged regarding long-term food security, driven by population growth and external pressures on animal populations, which may represent a challenge for wildlife conservation. Traditional hunting knowledge is currently complemented by new strategies. To ensure sustainability and food security, the community now incorporates the raising of domestic species and fish farming (Cirino and da Silveira, 2016; ISA, 2017). Learning these animal husbandry techniques has become an essential modern skill, demonstrating how the Kinja integrate new practices into their culture to sustain their population. This adaptation allows the continuation of traditions and also directly contributes to maintaining wild fauna populations.

The Kinja preserve traditional agricultural practices, adopting new techniques only when necessary. In villages, agricultural plots are mainly communal, where everyone manages, harvests, and benefits from production. For pest and disease control in crops, they do not use chemical products, prioritizing traditional practices combined with techniques acquired through exchanges with non-Indigenous specialists linked to educational institutions that access the territory for training purposes. The Kinja also benefit from professionals associated with the PWA, who provide training to community groups according to their interests and needs. This organized and centralized training model has proven effective in sharing knowledge and improving food production. The combination of tradition and innovation helps reduce pressure on soils and avoid degradation. The organization of agricultural plots promotes balanced territorial use, allowing crop rotation and natural vegetation regeneration. Furthermore, the absence of chemical inputs preserves soil, water, and fauna, maintaining biodiversity and ecological cycles. Thus, the Kinja demonstrate that sustainable production is possible by combining traditional and technical knowledge with contemporary demands.

Construction practices and forest management

Environmental care is also expressed in the construction of their communal dwellings, known as “mydy,” built exclusively with materials sourced from their territory. Renewed on average every ten years, these structures depend directly on forest resources such as palm leaves, wooden supports, tree fibers (enviras), and lianas, which are collectively and strategically harvested at each stage. Collection occurs in specific environments, to which they generally return when new materials are needed. By doing so, they reuse previously opened paths, which not only optimizes labor and avoids opening new trails, but also reduces impacts on new areas and disturbances to fauna. The use of enviras and lianas for tying and securing structural elements instead of nails demonstrates efficient low-impact knowledge and techniques that avoid industrialized materials and maintain resource cycles within the forest itself. During their journeys, the Kinja also collect other forest resources for handicrafts and everyday utensils, fruits for food, and medicinal plants for treating various illnesses. Additionally, collection activities seek mainly to meet internal needs, reinforcing a relationship of sustainable forest management.

Participation in recent infrastructure projects

Recently, a new project of public interest exerted pressure on the TIWA. The 500 kV power transmission line between Manaus and Boa Vista, a 700 km energy line installed between 2023 and 2025 to connect the state of Roraima to the national electrical grid, crosses the TIWA. As part of the project, 237 energy towers were installed within the Kinja territory, resulting in forest clearing and impacting areas used for fruit gathering, hunting, and daily Indigenous activities, especially for those living in villages near the towers. During construction of the transmission line, the Kinja monitored all phases of the process, from preliminary topographic, forest inventory, and archaeological studies to drilling, vegetation suppression at each tower site, foundations, assembly, and cable installation. Through workshops under the Indigenous Component Environmental Basic Plan (PBA-CI), the Kinja actively participated in decisions related to construction stages, significantly influencing how social and environmental impacts were managed, despite initially identified irreversible impacts (see Blos and Lima, 2020).

To coordinate these activities, the Kinja Environmental Management Program (PGAK) was established, composed mainly of Indigenous managers, coordinators, supervisors, inspectors, and monitors who systematically followed all stages of the process alongside non-Indigenous professionals. Every month, Kinja teams rotated to monitor activities, allowing some continuity although affecting the village activities. In addition to inspectors, Kinja monitors documented activities through photos and short videos, which were shared with villages in their native language, Kinja iara, broadening access to information. Complementarily, the community newspaper (Kwa Iaprem) was used as a communication instrument to disseminate detailed monthly reports about construction progress. Through these strategies, the entire Kinja community was able to follow field activities.

Within the PBA-CI planning process, one of the main concerns expressed by the Kinja referred to deforestation in tower areas and intermediate sections. To minimize this impact, measures were adopted such as installing towers well above the tree canopy, thereby avoiding deforestation between towers (Figure 2C), and using drones to launch cables, a strategy successfully implemented. Another critical aspect concerned impacts on local fauna. In this regard, fauna rescue actions were intensified and carried out collaboratively between Indigenous inspection teams and professionals from the company responsible for the environmental component. This arrangement contributed to maximizing wildlife rescue efforts, and a wildlife reception center, functioning similarly to a rehabilitation center, was established to rehabilitate injured animals and reintroduce them into the natural environment whenever feasible.

Vegetation clearing in areas designated for tower installation and access roads proved unavoidable. However, as a mitigation measure, actions were implemented for seed collection and maintenance of nurseries of native species, ensuring seedling availability for vegetation restoration programs in degraded areas. Additionally, to prevent mosquito breeding grounds, standing water accumulation was avoided, while systematic monitoring of water quality contributed to preventing contamination throughout the construction process. During the post-construction period, environmental monitoring and restoration plans for impacted areas remain under implementation and continue to be monitored by Indigenous inspectors and monitors, ensuring proper waste management within the TIWA.

At the conclusion of the project and tower implementation, the Kinja celebrated their participation and resilience through a community ceremony known as Maryba, collectively recognizing the courage, dedication, and effort demonstrated throughout all phases of construction. This episode demonstrates how Indigenous leadership and direct territorial management can help mitigate socio-environmental impacts and strengthen biodiversity conservation.

Discussion

In this study, we document how Kinja territorial governance promotes environmental conservation under conditions of persistent external pressure. We highlight that Indigenous conservation practices in the Kinja territory are primarily produced through the interaction between territorial governance, continuous surveillance, and collective regulation of resource use, rather than through external conservation policies. Despite the observedefforts in the Kinja territory, it is essential to recognize the limits and challenges associated with this model in a context of rapid change and increasing pressures. A critical analysis makes it possible to understand not only the factors behind its success, but also the vulnerabilities that may compromise its long-term sustainability.

The Kinja case contributes to broader debates on community-based conservation and Indigenous governance by demonstrating that biodiversity conservation is inseparable from territorial control, collective decision-making, and everyday resource management practices (Berkes, 2007; Dawson et al., 2024). The conservation governance role of this community aligns primarily with the “autonomous” and “primary control” categories described by Dawson et al. (2024), reflecting substantial Indigenous authority over territorial management, environmental monitoring, and conservation decision-making. However, such authority is constantly threatened by external interests. The Kinja case also illustrates how Indigenous governance operates within historically unequal and contested socio-political contexts shaped by colonial patterns of territorial intervention. External actors often determine the establishment of infrastructure projects while Indigenous communities absorb many of the resulting environmental impacts and responsibilities (Schwade and Reis, 2012; Pokorny et al., 2021; Davidson et al., 2026).

These inequalities reveal important dimensions of environmental justice that directly affect Indigenous governance and, consequently, conservation outcomes. By altering access to resources, transforming ecosystems, and reducing territorial control, externally imposed development projects can undermine the institutional and ecological foundations upon which Indigenous conservation practices depend. In the Peruvian Amazon, for example, the Kukama-Kukamiria and Urarina peoples have experienced increasing food insecurity associated with the contamination of floodplain ecosystems resulting from oil extraction activities (Rondoni, 2022). The resulting contamination has altered subsistence practices, disrupted access to traditional food resources, and challenged livelihood systems that have historically been closely adapted to local ecological conditions (Rondoni, 2022).

Similarly, large hydropower projects can compromise Indigenous governance and conservation by transforming riverine ecosystems, altering hydrological regimes, and reducing access to critical natural resources. As observed with the Balbina Hydroelectric Dam affecting the Kinja, comparable socioenvironmental impacts have been documented among the Indigenous peoples of the Xingu River affected by the Belo Monte Dam (Ribeiro and Morato, 2020) and among the Ava-Guarani affected by the Itaipu Dam (Carvalho Navarra, 2020). In all these cases, indigenous communities are disproportionately burdened with the long-term environmental consequences, reflecting persistent environmental injustices. Despite the effectiveness of territorial surveillance and adaptive management practices, the Kinja governance system faces important constraints. Population growth within the community may represent one of the main internal challenges in the future. A growing population implies greater demand for natural resources, such as wildlife for food and suitable areas for cultivation, which may intensify pressure on the territory. Even though traditional practices are guided by principles of sustainable use, the scale of this demand tends to change over time. In this sense, the continuation of existing strategies, such as diversification of food production and incorporation of new techniques, will be fundamental to balancing food security and biodiversity conservation.

Furthermore, external pressures remain a major threat to the long-term sustainability of this governance system. The presence of large infrastructure projects, the expansion of economic activities in surrounding areas, and risks of environmental contamination, such as river pollution by heavy metals (Moulatlet et al., 2023), demonstrate that territorial integrity does not depend exclusively on the community’s internal practices. These factors reinforce the asymmetry between local management capacity and the scale of impacts generated by external actors. Climate change adds an additional layer of uncertainty, affecting the availability of natural resources, ecological cycles, and potentially the predictability of traditional subsistence activities (Bauer et al., 2022). These transformations require continuous adaptive capacity, which may increase dependence on hybrid strategies integrating traditional and non-Indigenous knowledge systems.

Moreover, although institutional support arrangements have contributed to territorial protection, they also present limitations. Compensation programs are often criticized for reproducing power asymmetries and for failing to fully address the structural impacts associated with large infrastructure projects (Doria et al., 2021; Mayer et al., 2023; Roquetti et al., 2024). In this context, responsibility for mitigation falls disproportionately upon the very community that did not generate the impacts but becomes responsible for managing them and experiencing their long-term consequences. Examining this paradox is crucial for the Kinja people, whose community and territory have been subjected to severe state-led disruptions since the military dictatorship, with infrastructure projects continuously imposed upon them. The Kinja have transformed compensation programs into active mechanisms for territorial, cultural, and environmental protection, although such initiatives remain limited and persistently constrained. It is important to emphasize that the model observed among the Kinja is not automatically transferable to other contexts. Different Indigenous peoples possess distinct histories, social organizations, and territorial relationships, which limits the direct generalization of this experience. Nevertheless, some principles, such as the centrality of community governance, continuous territorial surveillance, and integration of knowledge systems (Cirino and da Silveira, 2016), offer important references for similar initiatives.

Cultural and territorial protection is consolidated as a central instrument of resistance. The Kinja case demonstrates that, even under intense pressure, the combination of social organization, traditional knowledge, and adaptive strategies can sustain significant long-term conservation actions. However, the adaptive capacity demonstrated by the Kinja should not be interpreted as evidence of unlimited resilience. Continued adaptation requires access to resources, institutional support, and secure territorial rights. Thus, the persistence of positive conservation outcomes will depend not only on the community’s internal capacities, but also on recognition and protection of their rights in the face of external pressures.

This study is based on a single case and therefore does not aim to generate universally applicable conclusions. Furthermore, the qualitative nature of the analysis emphasizes governance processes and experiences rather than quantitative measures of biodiversity conservation. Nevertheless, the findings still reinforce that indigenous territories should not be understood merely as areas that incidentally conserve biodiversity. Rather, they function as actively governed socioecological systems that promote conservation through daily practice and governance. Recognizing this role is essential not only for biodiversity conservation but also for addressing the environmental injustices associated with the disproportionate environmental and social costs imposed on Indigenous peoples.

Conclusion

The Waimiri Atroari (Kinja) play a central role in biodiversity conservation within their territory at both local and regional scales, constituting a fundamental component in the formation of the Central Amazon Ecological Corridor (Pereira and Cestaro, 2016), while articulating traditional knowledge, ecological understanding, and territorial surveillance strategies. Their history of resistance demonstrates that Indigenous communities can simultaneously protect their survival and biodiversity, especially when institutionally supported, although such resistance is not unlimited. Ideally, these communities should not have to endure socio-environmental impacts in order to ensure territorial integrity and the continuity of their ways of life. The daily challenges faced by the Kinja, such as preventing illegal exploitation of natural resources and mitigating the effects of large-scale projects, highlight the need for policies that recognize and guarantee their protagonism in decision-making processes concerning their territory. Furthermore, the integration of traditional practices with contemporary adaptive strategies illustrates how environmental conservation and cultural maintenance can operate synergistically. Therefore, conservation and territorial protection programs should strengthen Indigenous autonomy, guaranteeing the security and continuity of cultural practices that promote the preservation of strategic ecosystems. The Kinja case reinforces that sustainability in the Amazon depends not only on normative instruments or institutional programs, but also on knowledge and direct management by indigenous communities themselves, which should be guaranteed to all indigenous peoples.

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Footnotes

Edited by: Juliano Franco-Moraes, Universidade de Campinas, Brazil

Reviewed by: Barbara Flores, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Brazil

Eduardo Gomes Da Silva Filho, Federal University of Roraima, Brazil