ABSTRACT
Traditional people are characterized as having strong ties with their territory, and they depend in many ways on local natural and biological resources for their livelihoods. In Brazil, we have used the expression ‘traditional people’ since the 1980s to refer to the inhabitants of protected areas. This may seem artificial, since traditional people should not just be living in those conservation areas only. However, it becomes more logical when trying to understand the struggle of traditional people to maintain their livelihood and customs in association with efforts to conserve biodiversity. This apparently artificial expression meets the demands of many organizations that strive towards the two distinct aims of achieving biodiversity and nature conservation and recognizing the specific and often traditional livelihoods associated with natural and biological resources (Vianna, 2008).
