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International conventions, national laws and sustainable development policies are increasingly giving a role to indigenous peoples regarding the management of biodiversity by recognizing that they have collective rights over natural resources. These collective rights are assumed to establish the influence of these peoples in the implementation of participative management plans which they need in order to access and use the resources. These obligatory tools are requested in a large number of states (especially in the Amazon) and by institutions working in the field of sustainable development. Their goal is to integrate all environmental, economic, social and cultural aspects of the problem, and to establish rules allocating the rights and duties of each stakeholder. The purpose of this paper is to question the concept of collective rights, i.e. who holds them, and their importance, i.e. to what extent can these peoples influence the making of the norms. In order to do that, we attempted to produce a definition of "collective rights" which acknowledges their mutual dependence with individual rights. We also tried to propose a method for the making of management plans, which builds on the already existing rights of indigenous peoples in order to specify, in each context, the rights and duties of each stakeholder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low development of regional market production in Amazonia and the subsequent marginalisation of rural communities are often seen to be caused by a commitment to traditional agriculture. This situation is generally interpreted as the result of forest people''s resistance to technological innovation, on one hand, and the failure of institutions in sustaining agricultural development, on the other. The rise of global environmental issues and the question of the diversity of cultivated plants, more specifically, has led to a reconsideration of the importance of traditional farming systems. Indeed, these could play an essential part in conserving phytogenetic resources. This paper deals with Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), the main crop cultivated in traditional Amazonian farming systems, and principal source of income for small farmers. It is based on a study that was conducted in a wide range of ecological and socio-economic contexts and demonstrates that the extensive genetic diversity of Cassava can be explained by specific management practices. These practices are in turn confronted to the representations held by scientists and developers regarding the integration of Amazonian population into the global economy. We will then suggest potential directions for development policies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]