Research, Documentation, and Mapping

These activities involve participatory surveys, with outside technical guidance as needed, of the ecological characteristics, types of land use, demographic dynamics, and use of natural resources by the indigenous peoples who occupy the region of the Rio Negro headwaters in a traditional manner. The aim of these surveys is to identify and develop alternative practices for the sustainable management of natural resources in areas considered to be critical (i.e., where sustainability is at risk of becoming unviable). To achieve these objectives, the following types of studies are being conducted: (a) a preliminary description of the main landscape units of the territory, involving the identification, description, and mapping of the different ecosystems in the Upper Rio Negro; (b) a survey of the types of natural resource use; and (c) a project for collecting, organizing, and digitalizing georeferenced data on the different types of land use and economic activities in four critical areas: the Upper Rio Tiquié; the Iauaretê district; the Middle Rio Içana; and the city of São Gabriel de Cachoeira and its surroundings.