THE RECOGNITION OF THE KOMI-MEMEM RIVER AS A SUBJECT OF RIGHTS: INDIGENOUS LEADERSHIP IN GUAJARÁ-MIRIM AND THE AFFIRMATION OF THE RIGHTS OF NATURE IN THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON

protagonismo indígena em Guajará-Mirim e a afirmação dos direitos da natureza na Amazônia brasileira

Abstract

This article presents the process of recognition of the Rights of Nature in the municipality of Guajará-Mirim (Rondônia, Brazil) and of the Komi-Memem River — also known as the Laje River — the first Brazilian and Amazonian river recognized as a subject of rights, through Amendment to the Municipal Organic Law No. 001/2023 and Municipal Law No. 007/2023. Based on documentary review and reports from local leaders, the article examines the geographical, demographic, and socio-environmental context of the region, marked by intense land conflicts, invasions of Indigenous territories, deforestation, and the advance of agribusiness. It also describes the history of the Oro Wari´ people, their ancestral and spiritual relationship with rivers, and the community mobilization that led to the approval of the laws, highlighting Indigenous leadership, the support of the NGO MAPAS and the Amazonian Life Defense Committee of the Madeira River Basin (COMVIDA). It concludes that the recognition of the Komi-Memem River constitutes a legal and symbolic milestone for the protection of the Amazon and has inspired similar initiatives in other Brazilian states.