内容摘要：Merauje and the women of her village, Enggros, practice the tradition of Tonotwiyat, which literally means “working in the forest.” For six generations, women from the 700-strong Papuan population there have worked among the mangroves collecting clams, fishing and gathering firewood.

Merauje and the women of her village, Enggros, practice the tradition of Tonotwiyat, which literally means “working in the forest.” For six generations, women from the 700-strong Papuan population there have worked among the mangroves collecting clams, fishing and gathering firewood.

Ashaninka Indigenous leader Francisco Piyako poses for a portrait during the annual celebration recognizing the Ashaninka territory in the Apiwtxa village, Acre state, Brazil, Monday, June 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of a series of on how tribes and Indigenous communities are coping with and combating climate change.

Indigenous groups have long argued that they are in the best position to conserve and protect forests, having been successful stewards of lands for thousands of years. Indigenous land management is increasingly a central policy discussion at climate talks as global warming worsens and other methods to protect forests, such as carbon credit schemes, have largely not been successful.The area where the Apiwtxa village sits in the Brazilian Amazon was once a sprawling cattle farm run by non-Indigenous settlers who deforested the land. Establishing land boundaries opened the door to reforestation and cultural rebirth. (AP Video/Jorge Saenz)In Brazil, Indigenous territories comprise 23% of the Amazon region, which is roughly the size of South Africa and largely covered with old-growth rainforests that store large quantities of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that drives climate change when released into the atmosphere. In 2022, only 2% of all deforestation in the Amazon happened inside Indigenous territories, most by non-Indigenous land-grabbers. In Ashaninka’s Amonia territory, the deforested area today is 0.03%, underscoring the tribe’s successful forest management.

Thirty-two years ago, when the Brazilian government recognized the Ashaninka’s territorial rights, the area where Apiwtxa sits was a sprawling cattle farm run by non-Indigenous settlers. Loggers had degraded the remaining forest, depleting the region of mahogany and other valuable trees. Indigenous families lived scattered and in fear. With few options, some worked for farmers and loggers in slave-like conditions.The land demarcation, which forced outsiders to leave, opened the door to reforestation and cultural rebirth. The Ashaninka transferred their main village, Apiwtxa, to an abandoned pasture in a strategic location for surveillance. In the following years, the village leadership, spearheaded by Francisco Piyãko’s father, Antônio, and his siblings, set up a governance system focused on the collective good and self-sufficiency, according to

by anthropologist Carolina Comandulli and the Apiwtxa Association.

Ashaninka Indigenous youth Tayriykari inspects cedar baby trees for reforestation in the Apiwtxa village, Acre state, Brazil, Monday, June 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)A motorized boat maneuvers Amonia River at in the Apiwtxa village, Acre state, Brazil, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

The Apolima-Arara, who participated in the Ashaninka’s festivities along with Yawanawa, Huni Kuin, and other tribes, are dealing with some of the same problems faced by their neighbors decades ago. Part of their territory has been deforested by non-Indigenous people, and they are working to improve their agricultural production. The main village, Nordestino, has largely eliminated surrounding pasture by planting trees.So far, the OPIRJ project has provided agricultural equipment and a boat for territorial surveillance.

“Apiwtxa is an example to us. No Indigenous people retook their territory easily,” Apolima-Arara leader José Angelo Macedo Avelino said from inside the village’s collective hut, accompanied by other tribe members. “Apiwtxa suffered just like us, and now their territory is recovered. We plan to do the same.”The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s