Presentation short abstract

Brazilian environmental justice movements contest extractive development and produce counter-narratives. This presentation brings insights from eight lectures by indigenous, quilombola, traditional forest peoples' and food sovereignty movements. Access: digitalbrazilproject.com/environmentaljustice

Presentation long abstract

Latin American political ecology has built a rigorous critique of mainstream development models predicated on intensive extraction of natural goods. In Brazil, the diversity of environmental justice movements illustrates the multifaceted ways different actors contest dominant notions of “progress”. This presentation is related to an upcoming paper on JPE based on a series of lectures presented at the San Diego State University about the diverse perspectives of environmental justice movements in Brazil. It summarizes the key ideas shared in the lectures and systematizes contributions as collective innovations for the ongoing making of political ecology. The crosscutting takeaways critique the commodification of land and promote alternative production models supported by anti-racist and community-led actions. The lecturers produce powerful counter-narratives grounded in the diversity of life on Earth. The lecture series includes: “Food Sovereignty and Agrarian Territorial Development in Brazil” with Ana Terra and Josiane dos Santos; “Indigenous Movements of Southern Bahia, Brazil” with Juliana Tupinambá; “The Territorial Struggle for the Conservation of the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil” with Dione Torquato; “Protecting Traditional Peoples and Their Territorial Rights: The Role of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office” with Wilson Rocha; “Quilombola (Maroon) Audiovisual Production in Brazil” with Fabio Martins; “Contemporary Indigenous Cultural and Artistic Production in Brazil” with Caio Dutra and Priscila Tapajowara; “The Use of GIS Tools for Conservation in the Brazilian Amazon: The Yanomami Experience” with Estevão Senra; “Quilombola Territorial Rights and Environmental Protection in Brazil” with Mônica Borges. Access: < https://www.digitalbrazilproject.com/environmentaljustice >.