Summer Archives

Andrew Legan Matto Grosso do Sul, Brazil - Wildlife Conservation Society; Instituto Quinta do Sol

I conducted my Ingram Summer Project in rural Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Brazil. This project took the form of a Faculty Fellowship with Vanderbilt researcher and professor Dr. Malu Jorge. In collaboration with Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Instituto Quinta do Sol, I collected data on the populations and distribution patterns of large frugivore (fruit-eating) mammal and bird species and their relationship with human agriculture in the Brazilian Cerrado and Pantanal. This data will be analyzed to provide an accurate picture of local ecosystem health. I also participated in regional environmental politics. My primary liaison, Duca, and I spent time meeting with the leaders of the Corguinho Municipality, the municipality that includes the WCS field site and most of our research partners’ land. These meetings approached topics such as sustainable agriculture, community environmental festivals and events, best practice ecotourism and biological conservation. I was asked to film parts of these meetings, and my films provided helpful images for public relations and a useful record of the occurrence of the meetings to ensure accountability moving forward. Another unexpected component of my summer project was my indirect association with Brazil’s Movement of Landless Rural Workers (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra, MST). Although WCS does not have any political affiliation, it is important for conservationists to work with the MST and their agriculture programs in the Cerrado. Their alternative development practices offer a good example of reconciling sustainable land use and social justice.