The ecologies practised by traditional populations in the floodplains of the Amazon estuary
have been gaining ground in ethnobiological and ethno-ecological studies, as their knowledge
of the use of natural resources can be an important step towards understanding the diverse
relationships between human beings and the environment, contributing to the conservation
and socio-cultural reproduction of traditional territories in the Amazon. This research was
carried out in the riverside community of Nova Aliança do Rio Cají, located in the
municipality of Igarapé-Miri, Pará, emphasising the practices used to extract and manage
natural resources, from the perspective of Ecological and Local Knowledge. The study aimed
to analyse the history of occupation of the Igarapé-Miri floodplain and the Nova Aliança
Community in relation to aspects of traditional knowledge and land use over generations, and
the main extractive practices developed by the community in different environments. The
methodological approaches were ethnography, in order to understand the process of historical
and social construction of the community of Nova Aliança, consisting of the exercise of
looking at and listening to the oldest residents and the construction of a mental map;
qualitative techniques (informal conversations, semi-structured questionnaires and free
listing) and analyses using the AnthropacFreelists programme, which made it possible to
indicate the preferences and importance of the products extracted by the riverside dwellers.
Data was collected between January and February 2023, after the research had been approved
by the Research Ethics Committee, from six of the oldest residents and 32 residents, seven of
whom were nominated as experts. The results show that local ecological knowledge is passed
on in the community. Although the oldest residents no longer carry out extractive activities
within the community, the knowledge passed on is identified in the practices of the current
residents. This transmission takes place over the generations in a relationship of doing and
knowing how to do, with children accompanying their parents in the daily activities of
extraction, gathering, making utensils and hunting and fishing traps, promoting knowledge of
natural resources. Analysing the free listing of the cultural value of the species listed by the
experts shows how diverse the Nova Aliança community's ecosystem is: fauna, flora and
aquatic. This means that they live in daily contact with these resources. This differs from the
25 interviewees, who in addition to presenting practices on the use of resources, seek to
diversify activities aimed at guaranteeing income within the community.
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