Credit: ESA/Rosetta/NavCam CC BY-SA IGO 3.0
The Juruá River is a major tributary of the Amazon River in western Amazonia. The region has a historical presence of several local communities, including the ribeirinhos. They are a diverse group, whose livelihoods are intimately intertwined with river dynamics and the management of natural resources and who in recent decades have had to adapt to rising temperatures and changes in river floods.
THE RIBEIRINHOS
These communities emerged during the Amazon rubber boom in the late 19th century, when a large number of migrants came to the region.
Ribeirinhos inhabit and rely on natural resources from riverine areas, with their livelihoods closely tied to the seasonal water fluctuations.
Credit: André Dib
ACTIVITIES
Agriculture: shifting cultivation (floodplains and uplands), and agroforestry and homegardens.
Fishing: mainly on Juruá River as well as in oxbow lakes and creeks.
Gathering from the forest: rubber, açaí, nuts and edible plants. Occasional hunting.
TERRITORY AND CLIMATE
Credit: André Dib
Humid equatorial
CLIMATE
Changes in the climate
Warmer temperatures trend.
Changes in the river water level dynamics, including more extreme river floods and droughts.
Changes in rainfall distribution throughout the year.
ACCESS TO NATURAL RESOURCES
Changes in the territory
Flood-recession agriculture by the river and shifting cultivation in the uplands.
The creation of protected areas and the strong mobilization of local communities in the last decades resulted in the establishment of new community-based resource management systems.
The surrounding dense forest provides resources for gathering and hunting.
Access to markets, transportation, health services, and education have significantly improved. There is also more connection to the cities, access to information and digital connectivity.
VOICES OF LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
Ribeirinhos recognize that changes in their environment and livelihoods – both positive and negative – result from the interaction between multiple drivers. Among these, the most important are climate change, population and market growth, and new conservation and management policies.
Drivers of change
More trees are dying along the river, because of the extreme floods.
Now there is more rainfall during summer.
Today is much hotter than it used to be.
The river level during the dry season is now much lower.
Today there is less fish than before. Before there was a lot of fish, today there is less, although it is now increasing. There is just more people fishing.
Now there is less wind than before because people have cut down the trees.
Credit: André Dib
Credit: André Dib
Credit: André Dib
Credit: André Dib
IMPACTS ON LIVELIHOODS AND CULTURE
Credit: André Dib
Unpredictable waters lead to challenging lives
Changes in the river fluctuation dynamics disrupt traditional livelihoods finely tuned to the water levels. Multiple elements of the ecological dynamics and the livelihood activities are impacted by these changes.
Credit: André Dib
Is the land higher or the sun lower?
Warmer temperatures lead to cascading impacts, increasing crop and forest species mortality while reducing their productivity. Among the adaptations to high temperatures, people adjust the timing of agricultural activities to avoid sun exposure.
Credit: André Dib
Building resilience through social organization
The social-ecological changes in the region have enabled the ribeirinho communities to regain the use and management of natural resources, while promoting the conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems.
ENVISIONING A CLIMATE CHANGE-PROOF FUTURE
Impacts are highly variable
While changes in the river dynamics challenge the harvesting of forest products and reduce the crop productivity, the increase of large floods has a positive impact on fishing yields.
Unpredictable impacts are the most harmful
Ribeirinhos report a wide diversity of climate change impacts, mostly related to changes in temperature, precipitation and the river dynamics. Extreme, unpredictable events have a larger footprint on their livelihoods and wellbeing.
Proper management makes for sound protection
Driven by their ecological knowledge, Ribeirinhos actively promoted the establishment of protected areas and community-based resource management systems. This proactive approach significantly reduced their vulnerability to climate change by increasing the sustainability of fishing practices.
WORKING WITH COMMUNITIES TO LEAD THE CHANGE
Climate change impacts drive multiple adaptations by local communities to guarantee their livelihoods and wellbeing.Their knowledge is key to identify, understand and develop strategies to adapt to climate change. The design and implementation of climate change policies needs to be done together with local communities to identify more resilient and adaptive strategies.
STRONGER COMMUNITIES GLOBALLY FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE
While local communities are often more vulnerable to climate change, their vulnerability does not hinder their ability to take a leading role in implementing the necessary changes and developing effective adaptations. Integrating local communities into global research and policymaking efforts will expedite a global response to the impacts of climate change.
Credit: Daniel Burgas
PUBLICATIONS
Mariana de Oliveira Estevo, André Braga Junqueira, Victoria Reyes-García & João Vitor Campos-Silva (2023) Understanding Multidirectional Climate Change Impacts on Local Livelihoods through the Lens of Local Ecological Knowledge: A Study in Western Amazonia, Society & Natural Resources, 36:3, 232-249, DOI: 10.1080/08941920.2022.2153294
Campos-Silva, João V, Carlos A Peres, Joseph E Hawes, Torbjørn Haugaasen, Carolina T Freitas, Richard J Ladle, e Priscila F M Lopes. 2021. “Sustainable-use protected areas catalyze enhanced livelihoods in rural Amazonia”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118 (40): e2105480118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2105480118
OTHER RESOURCES
João Campos-Silva, André Junqueira, Guilherme Mazzochini, Alfredo Perez, Marcel Silva Passos, Mariana Estevo & Paulo Andrade. Mudanças climáticas e seus impactos na sociobiodiversidade do Rio Juruá. In ResearchGate
FIELDWORK CONDUCTED BY
André Braga Junqueira, João Vitor Campos Silva, Mariana de Oliveira Estevo, Lívia Cruz, Jessica Souza. Parner: Instituto Juruá – institutojurua.org.br
