Brazilian Ministry of Environment recognizes Tropical Conservation and Development Program at the University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Tropical Conservation and Development Program (TCD) at the University of Florida (UF) received an honorable mention in the science and technology category of the 2005 Chico Mendes Environmental Award from the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment. The prize recognizes the work of individuals and organizations that are committed to the preservation and sustainable use of natural resources in the Brazilian Amazon.
The TCD Program, housed at UF’s Center for Latin American Studies, was established in the 1980s to train graduate students for careers related to tropical conservation and development. Since 1988, the program has provided fellowships to 145 UF graduate students from 27 countries. TCD encourages its students to carry out problem-based applied research in collaboration with local institutions and researchers. About half of TCD’s 240 alumni completed research projects on the Amazon, and the program is credited with having fostered one of the largest concentrations of research on the Amazon region of any academic institution in the world.
The Chico Mendes Environmental Award was created in 2002 in memory of Francisco (Chico) Alves Mendes Filho, the well-known leader of the rubber tapper movement in the western Amazonian state of Acre, Brazil. Mendes and his supporters engaged in a non-violent struggle against powerful ranching and agricultural interests to stop the clearing of the rainforest, where rubber tappers and other traditional peoples live.
Mendes received international recognition for his work, including the United Nations Environment Program’s Global 500 Prize in 1987. As a result of Mendes’ work, the Brazilian government created a new category of protected area called extractive reserves. These reserves protect the forest, but also allow inhabitants to sustainably extract forest resources, such as timber or nuts, to provide a living. In 1988, Mendes was murdered in Acre by local cattle ranchers.
The TCD Program is directed by Marianne Schmink, UF professor of Latin American studies and anthropology. Schmink has carried out research on the Brazilian Amazon region since the mid-1970s. She first met Chico Mendes in Acre in 1987, approximately one year before his death. Upon notification of the award, Schmink stated, “On behalf of TCD’s wonderful group of committed and talented graduate students, faculty, and visiting scholars, I wish to express our gratitude and humility at having been associated with this prize, and with Chico’s name, as well as with all the other wonderful people who have received the awards.”
The 2005 Chico Mendes Award received 68 nominations, the highest number ever received, and awards were given in six categories: Individual Leadership, Community Associations, Non-Government Organizations, Sustainable Business, Science and Technology, and Art and Culture.