ACT In The News | October 2005

A Report From The Field: Experiencing love for nature on the shores of the Amazon

Basic taxonomy lecture. At the front of the classroom on the left is the speaker Sandro, ACT's biologist, while I am on the right assisting with the lesson.

Following a love for wilderness and a childhood dream, a personal search for an unforgettable experience came to fruition in the middle of the world between the planet's largest tropical forest and largest river: a place called Macapá. The mystery that echoes from the sounds of nature and culture through the Amazon's infinite extension of life forms is immeasurable. However, man's uncontrolled thirst for development is sapping the forest's biodiversity at an accelerated pace. It is urgent to act now against the innumerable threats to the tropical forest. The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) is one of the pioneers in the struggle for the conservation of tropical nature and culture. ACT has given me the opportunity to have an active role in completing not only its mission, but also mine.

Having just received my university degree in Montreal, I arrived in Macapá on a Thursday night in the middle of July ready for a six-month journey with ACT. Accessible only by boat or by plane, Macapá is a former Portuguese colony on the shores of the Amazon River delta. It is located in one of the hottest and most humid states of Brazil, Amapá. Macapá is a picture of skies filled with kites, roads packed with bikes, and aromas of tropical foods wafting up on a smooth breeze coming from the South. My journey has lasted only two months to the time of this writing, but I can already fill hundreds of pages with stories.

My team in the practical GPS lecture of the Indigenous Park Ranger Course.

Even in the one of the most precious tropical regions in the world, my stories definitely would not be as valuable as they are without the people with whom I have shared these experiences. The ACT team in Macapá consists of Marcelo, the regional coordinator, who has a strong and contagious passion for nature; Arlison, the project supervisor, who has extensive knowledge about local indigenous communities and associations; and Alannah, the assistant in financial matters, the youngest of all, who, while building experience, consistently brightens our moods with her smile. In addition, the indigenous association of the region's primary indigenous groups, the Associação dos Povos Indígenas Tiriyó-Kaxuyana-Tikixana (APITIKATXI), has its office in the same building as ACT, while ACT also works closely with the Association of Indigenous People of Tumuqumaque- Associação dos Povos Indígenas do Tumucumaque - (APITU). APITIKATXI, APITU, and ACT are working together on several projects. Working with the core members of the indigenous organizations we share not only work issues but a also a great deal of cultural exchange and understanding.

In ACT's most recent project, this September I had the opportunity to participate in the first course for indigenous park rangers of the Tumucumaque Mountains. The objective of this project was to train twenty-two voluntary indigenous park rangers from the Tumucumaque Indigenous Lands, within ACT's larger goal of initiating a process of biocultural protection in this region to mitigate the impact of uncontrolled human activities.

A moment of pride for Reginaldo, who received his course certificate at the airport just before returning home.

The experience was remarkable for three reasons: the fact that a park ranger course for indigenous people is a relatively new concept in Brazil and in the world; the fact that the course was conducted in one western language and two indigenous languages, specifically Portuguese, Tiriyó, and Apalai; and also the special nature of the student body meant that it was unnecessary to address standard ranger training themes such as "Basic Survival in the Wild". My contribution to this challenge was to assist in the coordination of the course; to contribute to conservation and biology/ecology talks; to support field activities, and to organize course materials such as tests, information sheets, and student and course evaluations. With effective teamwork, the goal was readily attained: twenty indigenous men proudly flew back to their families and communities with their certificates. I sincerely thank ACT for giving me the opportunity to participate in its projects and to fight with the team for the protection of the roots of humanity: nature and culture.

- Margarida Bronzoni