Very often, the reports and commentaries come from outside the countries and peoples of the region, while much of the thinking about Amazonia from within is not widely known or accessible.

Very often, the reports and commentaries come from outside the countries and peoples of the region, while much of the thinking about Amazonia from within is not widely known or accessible.

This book questions the assumption that Amazonia's future rests exclusively in sustainability and environmental conservation. It is the first book to argue for an Amazonia strategy that emphasises societal dynamics in deforestation and sustainable development policy. Demystifying utopian views of the rainforest as a troubled paradise, the book explores potential processes by which ordinary settlers can themselves construct a sustainable society.

Sustainable development is among the foremost ideas that guide societal aspirations around the world. This text interrogates the concept through a critical lens, examining both its history and the trajectory of its manifestations in the Brazilian Amazon.

Recent debates about sustainable development have shifted their focus from fixing environmental problems in a technocratic and economic way to more fundamental changes in social-political processes and relations. In this context, participation is a genuinely transformative approach to sustainable development, yet the process by which participation leads to transformation is not sufficiently understood. This book considers how the act of participating in sustainable development projects can bring about social transformation that is considered to be fair and just by the participants and non-participants in a broader societal context. Drawing on ideas from social theory and applied anthropology, the book proposes a reflexivity-based framework to analyse participation as a type of social action underpinned by primary experience. Development projects have a transformative effect when participants are given the opportunity to reflect on their experience, share the reflection with others, and open new space for collective deliberation and change. The book applies this framework to assess community-based participatory projects in the Amazon, African slums and rural settlements, and disaster stricken areas in Japan. It also outlines potential institutions of governance to institutionalize the change by referring to current food governance, drawing out lessons with international relevance. This book will be of interest to students of sustainable development, environmental policy and development studies, as well as practitioners and policy-makers in these fields.

From the pre-Columbian era to the present, native Amazonians have shaped the land around them, emphasizing utilization, conservation, and sustainability. These priorities stand in stark contrast to colonial and contemporary exploitation of Amazonia by outside interests. With essays from environmental scientists, botanists, and anthropologists, this volume explores the various effects of human development on Amazonia. The contributors argue that by protecting and drawing on local knowledge and values, further environmental ruin can be avoided.

What choices should we make for Brazil today? Imagine yourself in a debate room with the five authors of this book: Francisco Gaetani, Extraordinary Secretary for State Transformation; Izabella Teixeira, former Minister of the Environment and global authority on climate change; Marcello Brito, executive and Coordinator of the Global Agro-Environmental Center at Foundação Dom Cabral; Roberto S. Waack, business executive and advisor; and Samela Sateré Mawé, indigenous communicator and activist. Provocative, this book offers wide-ranging reflections on Brazil's future, addressing economic, political, environmental and social issues in the current global context. The topics discussed are such as environmental and climate imbalances, political tensions and global uncertainties, the need to modernize the Brazilian State, strategic agendas involving food production, valuing biodiversity with social inclusion and the role of indigenous peoples. Throughout the word, dialogue between different fields is presented as an essential element for strengthening democracy. The authors sign the book collectively, indicating that working together is possible and necessary. Connecting different perspectives also implies seeking a balance between rationality and sensitivity. In this sense, Josias Marinho Casadecaba's delicate artwork dialogues with the book, inviting the reader to explore between the lines a restless and incomplete vision of the future. The foreword, signed by political scientist Mônica Sodré, contextualizes the moment of this book's arrival in history and reinforces its invitation to the questions and choices that will need to be made if we want other realities.