title: Social-Ecological Changes in aQuilombolaCommunity in the Atlantic Forest of Southeastern Brazil.
abstract: Through a combined adaptive cycle and political ecology approach, this article explores how the Afro-BrazilianQuilombolasof Bombas, living inside the protected area of PETAR, respond to and shape social-ecological changes in the Atlantic Forest. Field data reveal that both environmental restrictions and social policies of state transfer payments and food packages have contributed to decreased engagement in agricultural practices, loss of traditional knowledge, and reduced agro-biodiversity. The claim to land rights based on aQuilombolaidentity and recent negotiations with forest authorities insinuate a shift of this trend. Contrary to dominant conservation narratives, the findings indicate that small-scale shifting cultivation practices by theQuilombolashave the potential to increase structural ecological complexity of the Atlantic Forest. The article therefore argues that legalization of settlement and subsistence activities is important not only for livelihood security and social cohesion of Bombas inhabitants, but also possibly for biodiversity conservation.
authors.affiliation: Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, Norway.
authors.forename: Kjersti
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thorkildsen
keywords: Atlantic Forest; Biodiversity conservation; Brazil; Quilombola; Shifting cultivation