Community Environmental Monitoring: the management of commons in Cassurubá Extractive Reserve

Abstract The aim of the current study is to address the right of Traditional Peoples and Communities (TPC) to participate in the environmental protection of their traditional territories in Extractive Reserves (RESEX), based on the analysis of the concrete Community Environmental Monitoring (CEM) case in Cassurubá RESEX. The conceptual framework of the topic was based on studies and theories focused on approaching the management commons. Next, the legal, positive and conceptual aspects of the national and international legal order, which outlines the scope of social participation in environment-related matters, were analyzed. Finally, the history, main features and institutional context CEM is inserted in were also analyzed. Action-research, participant observation and conversation meetings were the methodological instruments adopted in the current study. Indeed, CEM is a good instrument for the management of commons, mainly because it guarantees the rights of TPCs.