ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the possibilities of applied historical ecology within the context of societies that have become trapped inside the boundaries of politically defined conservation units. We present a case study of research among Amazonian forest peasants (beiradeiros) in the upper Iriri basin in Brazil. The territory of these peasants was included inside a strict nature reserve, the Terra do Meio Ecological Station (ESEC-TM). Environmental law in Brazil prohibits habitation and resource use in strict nature reserves, even though many were created on lands of Indigenous or traditional forest peoples. Applied historical ecology is directly relevant to the ensuing conflict. The research reported herein assesses the impacts of beiradeiro occupation on biodiversity. Data collection integrated standard forest inventory methods with archaeological surveys and ethnographic techniques, such as freelisting. By documenting high biological diversity indices and traditional knowledge that encodes this diversity, findings supported the hypothesis that beiradeiro traditional activities are congruent with the aims of conservation. As such, these data were successfully utilised to lobby for the retention of beiradeiro families within the ESEC-TM. Applied historical ecology can be useful in different historical, ecological and cultural contexts, where details of landscape transformation may be different from those discussed here.
