Social Organization and Participatory Resource Management in Brazilian Ribeirinho Communities: A Case Study of the Mamirauà Sustainable Development Reserve, Amazonas

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Abstract
This article examines the experience of a conservation with development project in the Brazilian Amazon in promoting sustainable resource management based on community participation. It describes the ecological and socioeconomic context for the project's activities in the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve (MSDR), and the formal structures established for community participation in resource management. The practical experience of project implementation in the MSDR to date is outlined and discussed relative to the nature of customary social organization in the local ribeirinho communities. The discussion identifies several constraints on the functioning of the formal structure for community participation in a society characterized by extensive kinship networks, a high degree of mobility, and dependency on outside interest groups.