Dzoodzo Baniwa, an indigenous leader from the Alto Río Negro Indigenous Territory in Amazonas near the Colombia border, won a Bunge Foundation award for work on the climate emergency and innovative solutions in agricultural sciences. The prize recognised him as one of four researchers and highlighted links between indigenous knowledge and scientific practice.
Baniwa was raised by parents who were illiterate. He became active in indigenous education for the Baniwa and Coripaco peoples and studied and later taught at the first Baniwa and Coripaco Pamáali Indigenous School, which Brazil's Ministry of Education recognised for innovation in basic education. Accessing higher education was difficult: he rowed from his village to enrol at the Federal Institute of Amazonas (IFAM), missed the start and was allowed to begin later. He earned a bachelor’s degree in intercultural physics from IFAM and a master’s in environmental sciences teaching from the Federal University of Amazonas.
He used his training to develop practical solutions, including a water pumping system that uses a hydraulic ram and PVC pipes and needs no electricity; it can pump about 6,000 litres of water a day. He is an adviser for indigenous school education in São Gabriel da Cachoeira. A collective book he helped produce won the Jabuti Prize in Academic Biological Sciences and Biodiversity and maps 310 bird species in Portuguese, Nheengatu and Baniwa.
Baniwa argues that ancestral and scientific knowledge are complementary and supports territorial management plans that guide schools and create alliances with universities and research institutes. He says the award shows the need for indigenous and scientific communities to join forces to face the challenges of climate change.
Difficult words
- indigenous — people native to a particular region or culture
- illiterate — unable to read or write texts
- enrol — officially join a school or course
- hydraulic ram — device that pumps water using flowing energy
- biodiversity — variety of plant and animal life
- ancestral — relating to the culture or knowledge of ancestors
- complementary — working well together to complete or improve
- alliance — agreements to work together for a common goalalliances
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Discussion questions
- How can combining ancestral knowledge and scientific research help communities face climate change? Give one or two reasons.
- What positive effects could a water pump that needs no electricity have for remote villages? Give two examples.
- Do you think schools should make alliances with universities and research institutes? Why or why not?
