Book Review

This is a valuable addition to the abundant literature about nature and society in the Amazon region. Little, professor of anthropology at the University of Brasília (Brazil), has written a substantiated, fresh, and engaging text.	1
Little's approach is an original blend of environmental history and political ecology. He examines the distinct "territorialities" of many actors and their corresponding claims ("cosmographies") about the legitimacy of their interests in Amazonian resources (land, water, soil, fauna, flora, oil, ores, genes, etc.). The environmental "footholds" of the actors are examined historically, while their relative political clout is evaluated in "synchronic" terms covering the last three hundred years. Correspondingly, the geographical scale of analysis smoothly shifts from the bend of a river or an oil rig to national conservation policies, and then to the world markets for oil, wood pulp, or genes.	2
The book addresses the seemingly endless cycles of occupation to which Amazonian lands and waters have been submitted over the last centuries, "Amazonian frontiers in time and space" (p. 1). Little is sensitive to the unfinished nature of many efforts in the settlement of Amazonia, an aspect too many analysts miss. No matter how many people are involved, which actors are present, how powerful they are, for how many years they persist, or how much damage is done to the natural environment, these efforts neither "close the frontier" nor create anything similar to "settlement," in the Turnerian sense of the expressions. This a welcome perspective, as the bulk of the literature on Amazonian issues usually handles these ventures as if they reach some sort of "end" and thus contain a clear-cut lesson or moral—be it the prevalence of the local underdog heroes, or the triumph of extraneous and disruptive government agencies or private corporations.	3
Little calls attention precisely to the opposite—the open-ended character of the processes of Amazonian frontier occupation. The author's premise is that "human territorialization is rarely based on a single, immemorial foundational act of a single group, but rather is an on-going process that can include migrations, conflicts and changes over long periods" (p. 229). Frontier history, therefore, "is not a process of linear historical succession: rather, it is marked by coexisting temporalities, cultural interpenetration and recurrent territorial disputes" (p. 234). Many corners of the Amazon region therefore seem endlessly subject to new cycles, involving old and new actors, in search of old or new resources, reshaping alliances and leading to surprising outcomes, which are in turn anything but perennial. Perennial, as the title implies, are the Amazonian frontiers themselves.	4
The challenging theoretical framework is enriched by the empirical design that focuses on two quite distinct regions inside the Amazon basin, one in Brazil and one in Ecuador. Four long chapters examine comparable processes of frontier occupation and of clashes between disparate actors and their "cosmographies." The chapters address the invasion of indigenous homelands, capital-intensive development projects, efforts in environmental conservation, and the on-going territorial claims, clashes, and alliances.	5
Little deals with literally dozens of actors—such as indigenous peoples, mestizo remnants of indigenous peoples, migrant non-indigenous colonists, military personnel (locally conscripted soldiers and extra-regional officers), missionaries, merchants, local governments, national conservation and development agencies, national and international environmental NGOs, local and regional tourist businesses, foreign tourists, large multi-national companies, multi-lateral and international cooperation agencies, and scientists. This is done in a clear and organized manner, a difficult task considering how often interests and alliances shift.	6
Perhaps the most interesting illustration of these open-ended processes is the Brazilian state of Amapá's success with "sustained-use" conservation units. Poor and disenfranchised extractive populations (rubber tappers, Brazil-nut gatherers, fishers, etc.), after being apparently run over by the powerful Jari multi-national enterprise since the 1960s, gathered together, with the support of socioenvironmental NGOs, local politicians, scientists and even multi-lateral agencies, and rallied. Today, about 1.65 million hectares—more than 11 percent of the state's territory—are designated as "extractive reserves," public lands leased to grassroots organizations to maintain the life style and economic activities of these traditional groups. In the meantime, local, regional, and national support to the once almighty Jari Project waned, its owners have changed more than once, and its operations have been constantly downsized. Similar processes can be seen in the eco-tourism operations of the Aguarico region of Ecuador, in which apparently defeated indigenous groups managed to gain important benefits, despite the power of international oil companies active in the region.	7
The text is well written and organized. The tone is balanced, despite the author's sympathy for the causes of the disenfranchised. Good maps help the reader understand the specifics of the intricate processes of "territorialization." Little also includes a few paragraphs (more would be welcome) of his field journal notes, adding more color and sense of place to his already clear prose.	8
Despite being easy to read and captivating, this is not necessarily the best book for beginners in the field of Amazonian studies, as it consistently engages in forefront discussions of the issues. To be profitably used in introductory courses, it should therefore be combined with more basic readings on Amazonia. On the other hand, it is highly useful for anyone interested in innovative approaches to human-nature interactions. The book is destined to become a reference in both Amazonian studies and in socio-environmental studies and is highly recommended.	9
Reviewed by Jose Drummond.

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