Temporalities and territory: present, past and future in the struggles of traditional communities and environmentalists in Brazil

This paper aims to explore the intersection of territorial and temporal dimensions in environmental conflicts involving traditional communities, indigenous people and environmental activists in Brazil, in the context of the contemporary climate and environmental crisis. The right to live in areas occupied by these traditional communities -and to have the occupation of these territories recognized as legitimate by the state- is the basis for the existence of a series of claims of quilombola people, indigenous and environmental groups in Brazil (eg. Carneiro da Cunha et al 2022). The demand for this right simultaneously engages with the colonial past, present struggles for survival, and visions for possible futures. On one hand, these communities' occupations of territories often date back centuries, with their ways of life remaining viable only through continued ontological and political resistance to maintain their presence in these places. On the other hand, securing these territories is framed as essential not only for their survival but also for the broader future of humanity, as these groups play a critical role in preserving standing forests (Brazil 2024). Deforestation for agricultural expansion is the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil, and recognizing the territorial rights of these groups effectively halts the advance of agribusiness-driven deforestation (Pompeia 2024). While it is important to avoid romanticizing traditional communities or presenting them as offering predefined solutions for the Anthropocene, it is undeniable that the protection of their territories is vital for ensuring colonial historical reparation and humanity's present and future. To critically reflect on the space-time relationships established by traditional peoples and communities, we employed an interpretive approach (Schwartz–Shea, Yanow 2012). Methodologically, the paper draws on interviews with Brazilian environmental activists and observations of their demonstrations in climate and social forums across the country. By analyzing these interviews, we could comprehend that these communities’ relationships with their territories and the more-than-human beings surrounding them are not fixed within traditional dimensions. These relationships are shaped by movement, fragmentation, and regrouping over time, influenced by environmental conflicts such as agribusiness expansion, mining, and other extractive pressures. In this sense, the paper argues that the concept of "tradition" in these contexts should not be understood as adherence to a fixed way of life from the past. Instead, it reflects a category strategically inhabited by populations actively engaged in environmental conflicts. In this sense, their claims to territorial rights do not always align with Western notions of long-term occupation. These groups use "tradition" not only as a marker of identity but also as a strategic resource in their environmentalist and, increasingly, climate activism. Recognizing this dynamic and situated relationship with territory underscores the need to integrate the intertwining of temporal and territorial dimensions more centrally into theoretical and empirical debates about environmental activism and solutions to the climate crisis. This perspective also highlights the relevance of these processes for understanding environmental conflicts in the Global South, where populations navigate extractive pressures, agribusiness expansion, and legal fragility while engaging in evolving forms of activism).