Participation, representation, and representativeness of traditional peoples and communities in Eastern Amazon State Water Resources Councils

Abstract

This article analyzes the participation, representation, and representativeness of Traditional Peoples and Communities (PCTs) in the State Water Resources Councils (CERHs) of the Eastern Amazon to verify whether such spaces have been the stage for debates, defense of collective interests, and decisions which are relevant to these populations. For this purpose, documental research was carried out regarding the laws, decrees, regulations, resolutions, and minutes published between the years 1997 and 2022 on the websites of the environmental secretariats of the states of Amapá, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, and Tocantins, resulting in the identification and analysis of 34 terms of office, 23 regulatory decrees, 169 resolutions, 30 minutes, etc. The results obtained indicated that the councils of Amapá, Tocantins, and Maranhão do not have in their decrees the projections of vacancies for PCTs, unlike the councils of Pará and Mato Grosso. Nevertheless, in these councils, the definition of vacancies for representatives of the PCTs was not addressed in 88.89 and 100% of the meetings held, respectively. In the end, it was found that the projections of vacancies for PCTs representatives in the councils do not guarantee effective participation, representation, and representativeness. Therefore, strategies that promote the inclusion and full participation of PCTs in CERHs of the Eastern Amazon are urgently needed.