The event strengthened community protagonism and advanced the regulation of chelonian management as a cultural practice and conservation strategy

By Ana Cíntia Guazzelli/WCS Brasil, reviewed by Nathália Messina/Instituto Juruá

A meeting that goes far beyond the walls of the Inspetoria Laura Vicuña auditorium took place in Manaus, from 24 to 26 July 2025, the II Sustainable Chelonian Management Workshop, bringing together riverine, indigenous, and quilombola (Afro-Brazilian) communities, researchers, managers, and partners from across the Amazon and Latin America. The event proposed a deep dive into the knowledge, practices, and challenges experienced by those who live chelonian management in the forest.

Check out the event’s program here

The workshop’s proposal was clear: to advance the collective development of guidelines for the regulation of egg and individual collection of Amazonian chelonians. And that means valuing a cultural practice that, for centuries, has guaranteed food, income, and a connection to the territory for many traditional populations.

Over three intense days, participants shared community experiences, reflected on good practices and challenges within the production chain and identified concrete paths toward the implementation and regulation of chelonian management. The program included plenary sessions, working groups and an experience fair that inspired and strengthened mutual support networks.

On the first day, the focus was on the exchange of experiences and the sharing of results from the I Sustainable Chelonian Management Workshop, with highlights from the talks by Dr. Camila Ferrara (WCS Brazil) and Dr. German Forero Medina (WCS Colombia). The second day brought to light local knowledge and community monitoring practices, creating space to collectively build shared learnings and address challenges in the chelonian and egg production chain.

Bringing the workshop to a close, the third day was dedicated to identifying pilot areas and debating the next steps to ensure a regulation that is both effective and respectful of amazonian ways of life. The idea is simple, yet powerful: to decriminalize management and have it recognized as a legitimate strategy for conservation, food security, and income generation.

For Marcos Amend, executive director of WCS Brazil, who participated in the opening of the event, this process is much more than technical. “It is an active listening to the territories, a recognition of the knowledge that emerges from the river margins and of the practices that have cared for chelonians for generations. We are here to ensure that this care becomes public policy, with safety, dignity, and cultural valorization,” guaranteed Amend.

“Chelonian management is an ancestral practice that needs to be recognized as a legitimate conservation tool. By giving voice to communities, we are building fairer public policies based on those who care for biodiversity in practice, every day,” said Camila Ferrara, chelonian specialist at WCS Brazil.

As a workshop partner, João Vitor Campos-Silva, president of Instituto Juruá, explained: “The protection of chelonian tabuleiros (nesting sites) is one of the most effective conservation strategies in the Amazon. However, most of this effort rests on the shoulders of local communities, who dedicate a large part of their time protecting these tabuleiros 24 hours a day.” He also stated: “It is high time we find a solution for financial compensation for the great effort that community members dedicate to chelonian protection, so that these conservation heroes can continue their work with motivation and dignity.”

Manoel Cunha, from the São Raimundo Community in the municipality of Carauari/AM, and manager of the Médio Juruá Extractive Reserve, believes that “chelonian management is the only real way to ensure these species continue to exist in abundance in the Amazon. We have already proven that community effort can recover threatened populations, but this effort needs to be transformed into recognition and economic value. Without a legal and well-structured production chain, discouragement takes hold and the risk returns. This event is important because it gives us the opportunity to unite traditional knowledge with technical and scientific knowledge to jointly build a viable and fair management model,” said Manoel.

The II Workshop was held by WCS Brazil, in partnership with Instituto Juruá, Projeto Pé-de-Pincha, and supported by the Bezos Earth Fund and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. This workshop represents a space for listening, consensus building, and strengthening of the amazonian socio-bioeconomy, with those who are on the frontlines of conservation: traditional communities.