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Sole paragraph. The rule of this Article does not apply in the case where the Brazilian
Indians show consciousness and knowledge of the practiced act, given that it is not
prejudicial to him/her, and of the extension of its effects.
As mentioned above, since the late 1980s, Brazilian Indians have organized themselves
in order to defend and represent their own interests by constituting Brazilian Indian Associations
under the Brazilian legal system. In this sense, the Associação Metareilá clearly meets those
requirements and is entitled to fulfill the role of project participant and representative of the Surui
in the project development and credit commercialization, provided that (i) Associação Metareilá
acquires a specific mandate to take decisions and implement the project on behalf of all the clans
which comprise the Surui present in the areas where the project will be implemented and (ii) the
economic results of the commercialization are reverted to such clans. Those conditions establish
the autonomy of the Surui to conduct the project and legitimate that their association acts in
accordance with the overall interests of their community.
Finally, it is important to clarify that although Funai’s participation is not a pre-condition
for the legal act to be deemed valid; however, it is important to submit the project to Funai
to allow the agency to fulfill its role of identifying any potential situation which can result in
damages to the Brazilian Indians’ rights. On the other hand, the fact that Funai’s participation
is not a pre-condition for the validation of legal acts of Brazilian Indians does not restrict Funai’s
duties and power to seek, whenever necessary, administrative and judicial remedies to protect
Brazilian Indians’ rights. It also does not impair its remaining important role in formulating the
national policies and implementing administrative actions aimed at protecting the Brazilian
Indians’ rights, including the demarcation of Indians’ lands and many other supportive actions.
Based on the Surui’s constitutional rights discussed in this paper (permanent possession
over their lands, exclusive usufruct and perception of economic benefits resulting from its
sustainable use, and carbon credit ownership) and their autonomy to implement the projects, we
conclude that the participation of Funai as a project participant is not mandatory to validate the
actions of the representatives of the Surui in project development and credit commercialization.
However, given the role of Funai in protecting Brazilian Indians’ rights, it is recommended
that obtaining Funai’s formal analysis and institutional support of the project as part of the
stakeholders’ consultation conducted by the Surui. Further, Funai may play an important role in
implementing policies that favor the implementation of these types of projects.
The fact that the Surui are able to autonomously implement the project also displaces
consideration of the economic results of the project as part of the “Indian Heritage” concept
Av o i d e d d e f o re s t A t i o n (redd) A n d i n d i g e n o u s p e o p l e s: experiences, chAllenges A n d o p p o r t u n i t i e s in t h e A m A zo n c o n t e x t 137