Seeds network and collective action for the restoration and conservation of Xingu River’s springs (Mato Grosso, Brazil)

Abstract

In 2017, indigenous and non-indigenous people from the Xingu-Araguaia region met in Mato Grosso to celebrate 10 years of partnership and collective action of the Xingu Seeds Network (XSN). This network originated from the Campaign `Y Ikatu Xingu, a social phenomenon concerning conservation and protection of the Xingu spring region. The river basin of the Xingu headwaters, 17 million hectares, is the main focus of XSN and it has lost five million hectares of forests and cerrados, which were converted into grain monoculture fields, within a very short period of time. The impact on the quality of the river water caused an environmental and health problem for the indigenous peoples of the indigenous lands. XSN has promoted innovative technological alternatives for recovery of permanent preservation areas (PPAs) or gallery forest and income generation for small farmers and local communities. The goal of this study is to analyze the environmental governance in the Xingu basin, paying particular attention to institutional arrangements of the Xingu Seeds Network. This analysis is grounded on the theoretical-methodological framework, contained in the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD), which offers tools for understanding the strengthening process of democratic institutions in the protection of common-pool resources. These are permanent preservation areas, in Brazilian case. This study provides a reflection of governance mechanisms, based on the "Commons Theory", in regions where socioeconomic dynamics drastically modify the tropical ecosystems that are fundamental to wildlife and human life.