Indigenous territories and governance of forest restoration in the Xingu River (Brazil)

Background

The headwaters of Brazil’s Xingu River have experienced extensive deforestation over the past five decades due to policies promoting agribusiness, land privatization, and economic development. This degradation has affected the seasonal forests and Cerrado ecosystems, including critical riparian zones. In response, Indigenous and non-Indigenous actors launched the ‘Y Ikatu Xingu Campaign in the early 2000s to restore these ecologically and culturally important landscapes. Central to this effort is the Xingu Seed Network, a multi-stakeholder initiative promoting the collection and planting of native seeds to restore degraded lands and protect water resources across the region.

Goals and Methods

The study evaluates the effectiveness of the ‘Y Ikatu Xingu Campaign—especially the Xingu Seed Network—in restoring riparian forests and promoting environmental governance in the Suía-Miçu River Basin. Using Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, the authors examine interactions between biophysical conditions, community attributes, and institutional rules across multiple stakeholder groups. Methods include socio-institutional analysis through 63 semi-structured interviews with Indigenous leaders, farmers, restoration agents, and organization representatives, as well as land-use and land-cover change analysis via remote sensing data from 1984 to 2017.

Conclusions and Takeaways

The campaign has spurred forest restoration through inclusive governance, especially via the Xingu Seed Network, which mobilizes over 500 seed collectors across Indigenous territories and agrarian settlements. Technological innovations, such as the “muvuca” seed-mix method, reduce restoration costs and scale up efforts. However, results remain modest relative to the scale of deforestation, and Indigenous concerns persist—particularly among the Kĩsêdjê people—about water quality and the cultural relevance of the campaign. Despite progress, disparities in land tenure, enforcement of environmental laws, and asymmetries in power continue to challenge long-term sustainability. The study underscores the need for Indigenous leadership in monitoring and decision-making, especially in rapidly changing socio-environmental landscapes.