The contribution of Márcio Ayres to a transdisciplinary approach to conservation

Abstract

This chapter is an homage to primatologist and environmentalist Márcio Ayres. An account of Márcio's life is given, focusing on his role in the creation of a new model of conservation unit in Brazil, the Sustainable Development Reserve. The Reserve is based on a transdiscipinary approach to conservation, and represents a step forward to a new understanding of the relation between people and environment. However, the vision of conservation put forward by this proposal is still impaired by the vocabulary in use today. The terms biodiversity and traditional people are discussed as a pair of words that express resistance to proceed in new ways of thinking about sustainable ways of living, such as that promoted by the work of Márcio Ayres.