2021 Theses Master's

Indigeneity, Environment, and Governance in the Amazon: The Impact of Indigenous Movements on Environmental Conservation Policy in Nation-States of the Amazon Rainforest

Johnston, Samantha Ann

This paper traces the environmental movements by indigenous peoples in indigenous territories in the Amazon. It shows the gaps between the policy that exists and the policy that should exist to best preserve the Amazon including the reasons this divergence exists. In looking for the best way to remedy this inconsistency, it becomes clear that the state often acts against the environmental interests of indigenous peoples, and against the Amazon in general, in the name of development and economic growth. Despite nominal protections, indigenous peoples tend to have little access to national or international legal recourse. As such, this paper concludes the most effective and practical way to protect indigenous rights and ensure conservation of the Amazon is to return significant to full collective property rights over as much of the land as possible to indigenous peoples.