Integrating Co-Management and Land tenure Policies for the Sustainable Management of the Lower Amazon Floodplain Authors: David G. McGrath, Alcilene Cardoso, and Oriana Almeida The Amazonian Várzea: the decade past and the decade ahead” (Conservação e Desenvolvimento na Várzea: aprendendo com o passado, construindo o futuro) December 4-7, 2006, Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil 1. Introduction: The first meeting of this conference occurred at an important moment in the development of participatory management systems for the varzea. Since the beginning of the nineties a number of conservation and participatory 1 management initiatives had developed that built on local and regional grassroots movements for the conservation of floodplain fisheries, habitats and biodiversity. The potential of these participatory approaches to managing floodplain fisheries was the subject of some debate as skeptics questioned optimistic assertions regarding the potential of community management as a strategy for conserving floodplain biodiversity (Goulding et al. 1996; 2003; Smith 1999). The last decade has been one of intense activity in the development of policies, institutions and management systems for the participatory management of floodplain resources (Mcgrath et al. 2004). While this experience has proven the validity of many of the concerns raised by skeptics, few if any have proved insurmountable and much has been learned and achieved towards construction of a varzea wide framework for the participatory management and conservation of the floodplain ecosystem (McGrath et al. 2006). While much has been accomplished, much remains to be done before a region wide policy and institutional framework is consolidated and local populations throughout the varzea network are sustainably managing their resources. The process of constructing this regional co-management system is at a particularly critical moment. INCRA, (Instuto Nacional de Colonização e Reforma Agrária), the federal colonization and land reform institute, has begun implementation of a new land tenure policy for the varzea that will have far reaching consequences for floodplain settlement, resource management and conservation. This paper describes the development of the new land tenure policy and evaluates its impact on the co-management system that has been constructed over the last decade 2 . The paper is organized in four parts. In the first we describe briefly the relevant aspects of Lower Amazon ecology and settlement. The second focuses on the development of co-management systems for floodplain fisheries and grazing lands in the Santarém area. The third describes the development of land tenure policy for floodplain settlement and resource use and in the final section we evaluate the potential impact of this policy for the sustainable management and conservation of the varzea. 2. Lower Amazon Varzea Ecology and Settlement 1 We use the term participatory management to cover situations in which resource users have a significant role in management of the resource, including community management and co-management. 2 In many ways this paper is a sequel to McGrath et al. 2004, which examines the development of the co- management system and evaluates its performance. 1