When it comes to environmental conservation and sustainable development initiatives in tropical forests, indigenous peoples are key players. They have been described often as either conservationists or destroyers of biodiversity. The position adopted on this matter is important because it guides the design and implementation of conservation strategies. The central question about what makes indigenous peoples conserve or degrade biodiversity, however, has posed a significant challenge, particularly in light of widespread trends such as cultural change, market expansion, and greater diversification of livelihoods. The reasons why indigenous communities end up degrading or conserving natural resources are addressed in a comprehensive yet accessible manner in this book, filling a critical gap in current knowledge about the socioeconomic drivers of biodiversity loss, and the rise of community-based conservation, using the hunting trends and conservation efforts of the Wachiperi for this analysis. Readers could greatly benefit from the lessons provided in this book about achieving both socioeconomic development and biodiversity conservation by engaging indigenous communities in a sustainable manner.

What makes indigenous peoples conserve or degrade biodiversity? This book addresses this question in a comprehensive yet accessible manner. In a context where indigenous ways of life can be significantly influenced by policies and practices guided by preconceived notions based on flawed assumptions, this book fills a critical gap in current knowledge about the changing environmental behavior of indigenous peoples, particularly in light of widespread phenomena such as cultural change, market dynamics, and greater diversification of livelihoods. The flexible way of understanding the relationship between indigenous peoples and tropical biodiversity presented in this book can greatly benefit both people and the environment.

Large-scale development projects oftentimes end up creating negative impacts that affect vulnerable populations with particular intensity. Projects likely to displace families from their homes, degrade the living conditions of indigenous peoples or intensify social conflicts at local levels are not uncommon. Social safeguards are intended to prevent these and other unintended impacts, and when the impacts cannot be averted, to develop appropriate measures to mitigate them. However, the practical implementation of social safeguards is plagued with a series of structural problems. The collection of stories from the field presented in this book illustrates the principles and application of social safeguards in the context of projects funded by multilateral banks, identifying key challenges in their implementation and exploring paths to overcome those limitations.