APIB TOURS THROUGH EUROPE TO REPORT THAT MEAT, SOYBEAN, LEATHER AND GOLD PURCHASED BY EUROPEAN COUNTRIES LEAVE A TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION IN BRAZIL’S INDIGENOUS LAND

APIB TOURS THROUGH EUROPE TO REPORT THAT MEAT, SOYBEAN, LEATHER AND GOLD PURCHASED BY EUROPEAN COUNTRIES LEAVE A TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION IN BRAZIL’S INDIGENOUS LAND

Indigenous leaders from Brazil visit France and Belgique during the month of June as a strategy to hold governments and companies accountable for threats to the protection of their territories, as well as to reinforce the complaint at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the Bolsonaro government for Genocide and Crimes against Humanity.

The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) visits Paris and Brussels from June 8th to 16th 2022 as part of its strategy to confront the genocidal and ecocidal policies of the Bolsonaro government. Its objectives are to affect the chains of extraction of products, such as gold, and the production of raw materials such as meat, soybean and leather, consumed in Europe and which leave a strong impact on the Indigenous Lands of Brazil. For this, the indigenous delegation will meet with Commissions of the European Parliament to participate in the debate on the legal proposal about a Regulation on deforestation-free products (FERC). Among the various activities, APIB is going to meet with the Brazilian delegation of the European Parliament and with the parliamentary Environmental Department, both on June 14, and with members of the German Green Party on June 15. These events are of great importance as Europe is the second largest market buying soybean produced in Brazil and a big importer of Brazilian beef.

Also during the International Tour, APIB will accompany the acts and investigations of the French supermarket group Casino suspected of lack of traceability of certain products from deforested lands or land grabbing in Brazil. The International Tour is an independent action, which is not linked to any political party or company, organized by APIB to promote political advocacy for the rights of indigenous peoples. Seven indigenous leaders, representing all regions of Brazil, cross the ocean to denounce international threats to their territories and demonstrate that their struggles go beyond Brazilian borders.

“We need urgent international action in the face of the institutional instability scenario that we are experiencing today in Brazil. A scenario promoted by hate speech, with an incidence of the Executive within the Legislative, with action or omission of the Brazilian State that promotes the invasion of indigenous lands and that weakens the institutions that should guarantee the rights of indigenous peoples, mainly FUNAI, ICMbio and Ibama. The institutions are being dismantled, with a significant increase in violations on indigenous lands with the advance of mining, illegal logging and the implementation of large enterprises without respecting biodiversity and the specificities of indigenous peoples”, explains Dinamam Tuxá, Executive Coordinator from APIB.

CASINO case: supermarkets accused of selling products linked to deforestation and land grabbing

In March 2021, indigenous organizations from Brazil and Colombia, together with a group of French NGOs, sued the retailer Casino, which owns the supermarket brands Casino, in France, Pão de Açúcar, in Brazil, and Éxito, in Colombia. The evidence presented points to a pattern of products linked to deforestation and land grabbing in Brazil and Colombia.

“We are taking action on the Casino case because, as has been shown, it purchases products from deforestation and socio-environmental conflicts. These large groups that purchase commodities in Brazil must respect the principles of traceability, as many of these products come from areas of socio-environmental conflict, encourage deforestation in the Amazon and end up violating the rights of indigenous peoples”, says Dinamam Tuxá.

Forest risk commodities (FERC) import law needs to be improved to avoid serious socio-environmental impacts

The proposed Regulation on deforestation-free products (FERC), launched in November 2021 and which will be debated and voted on by the European Union, has a direct impact on the security of indigenous lands and the biomes that these people protect. The regulation will have to define a date on which it will be prohibited to sell products that have evidence of illegal deforestation in the production chains of risky products.

The law provides for regulations on commodities (meat, leather, wood and other products) arising from deforestation and/or forest degradation, but it still has loopholes as it does not recognize mining products, soybean and frozen meat. Furthermore, the law recognizes as risky commodities only those produced in forests following FAO’s deffinition, which excludes ecosystems such as Cerrado, Caatinga, Pantanal, Pampas and others. The measure, which seeks to require foreign importers to monitor the supply chain, excludes a good part of natural environments that are at high risk of destruction and does not specifically consider the negative impacts on indigenous peoples who suffer the consequences of productive and extractive activities.

Mining in Indigenous Lands: the struggle to legalize a predatory activity with indigenous peoples and the environment

The European mechanisms for regulating the gold market only consider certain countries with recognized conflicts to be traceable, but Brazil is not included despite being one of the main exporters of gold extracted from illicit mining in Indigenous Lands or with impacts both environmental and health in indigenous peoples. In Brazil, there is a lack of control over the traceability of gold production, according to a study carried out by the Environmental Services Management Laboratory (UFMG) together with the Federal Public Ministry. The gold declarations in the Financial Contribution for the Exploration of Mineral Resources from 2019 to 2020 showed that only one third of the gold corresponded to the declared origin, with another third being clearly illicit and last third it was not possible to verify its origin.

From 2010 to 2020, the area within indigenous lands occupied by mining grew by 495%, according to data from Map Biomas. Even though the violent consequences of the installation of mining in indigenous lands have been verified, the Brazilian Congress, pressured by President Jair Bolsonaro, intends to legalize such activity with Bill 191/2020. Also, the proposal of Bill 490/2007 pretends to paralyze the demarcations and review Indigenous Lands already demarcated, and the Bill 510/2021 intends to legalize the land grabbing. These are some measures that constitute an anti-indigenous agenda in the National Congress.

“We are going to talk to the European Parliament in order to bring up this concern of institutional instability in Brazil, our democracy is very fragile. We need to try to get the countries of the international scenario to intercede in the Brazilian Parliament in order to put some pressure on them in order to avoid the approval of those Bills violating our rights. In addition, certain trade agreements between Brazil and the European Union can increase deforestation in the Amazon and, in particular, violence against indigenous peoples in all Brazilian biomes”, explains Dinamam Tuxá.

The thesis of the “marco temporal” (temporal milestone) and the risks for the guarantee of Indigenous Lands

In addition to the legislative threats, the President of Brazil has been carrying out his threats: while campaigning in 2018, he said that he would not demarcate any millimeter of indigenous land and so far all demarcations are paralyzed. The right to recognize and demarcate areas traditionally occupied by indigenous peoples runs the risk of being extinguished if the temporal milestone of PL 490, also known as Marco Temporal, is incorporated into the law by the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil. This Bill is one of the main attacks by the Legislative Power on the rights recognized to indigenous peoples in the Federal Constitution of 88 and APIB considers it an “attempted genocide”.

The trial, which began in 2021, was postponed for the third time on June 5th. The session was scheduled for June 23rd 2022 and APIB was preparing to occupy Brasília for the trial. (Read more about the postponement of the Timeframe vote).

“As much as we became aware of the possibility of suspending the judgment of the time frame thesis on the 23rd, this means a lot beyond postponement. This is also a reflection of the political pressure caused by this conjuncture and by a speech of structural and institutional racism promoted by the executive headed by the President of the Republic Jair Bolsonaro. It forces us to make advocacy campaigns within an international scenario to prevent these violations. The institutions of Brazil are being silent and the only actions that are being promoted are mainly focused on the withdrawal and violation of our rights”, says Dinamam Tuxá.

Aims of the awareness campaign across Europe

The benefit of protecting indigenous territories is not just for their own peoples: Indigenous Lands are a guarantee of the future for humanity. Therefore, everyone must be responsible for protecting these territories. The relationship with the territory is not one of ownership, exploitation, expropriation or appropriation, but of respect and management of a common good, which serves all humanity. However, the survival of indigenous peoples remains under constant threat. The pressure for deforestation in indigenous territories is intense, through invasions, mining, agricultural expansion and other illegal activities, putting indigenous people’s lives at risk.

We aim for the European Union, as a major consumer of Brazilian agricultural commodities and one of the largest buyers of gold in Brazil:

– take responsibility for their production chains
– impose measures and restrictions to ensure that products imported into European countries do not contain the blood of indigenous peoples
– join the struggle of indigenous peoples and put pressure on the Brazilian government to establish emergency measures to eliminate the genocide of its peoples.
About the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB)
APIB is the largest instance of representation of the Brazilian indigenous movement and has, since its creation, fulfilled its commitment to fight for the guarantee of the constitutional rights of Indigenous Peoples. Whether nationally or internationally, APIB and its seven grassroots organizations are mobilized to protect territories, communities and people.
The Indigenous Peoples, articulated through their regional organizations and APIB, seek in all instances the accountability of those responsible for this destruction. Internationally, APIB, in addition to participating in climate events and debates, seeks to make the agents responsible for the dynamics of invasion, illegal exploitation and destruction of indigenous territories accountable, as well as influencing the debate on the formulation of the new Regulation on deforestation-free products (FERC). In Brazil, APIB has historically mobilized the indigenous movement and faced the anti-indigenous policies that are being processed in the Federal Supreme Court and in the Chamber of Deputies, forming the front line of protection of Indigenous Peoples and Lands, and consequently, of the environment and the environment’s future.
Apib, as a national reference for the indigenous movement in Brazil, brings together regional indigenous organizations and was created with the purpose of strengthening the union of peoples, the articulation between the different regions and indigenous organizations in the country. To protect indigenous territories and ensure respect for constitutional rights, APIB resists and advances on different scales.

For more information and to schedule interviews, you can contact the press service:

(61) 982124182
[email protected]
[email protected]

We demand swift action by the Brazilian government in the search for Bruno Pereira and the journalist Dom Phillips.

We demand swift action by the Brazilian government in the search for Bruno Pereira and the journalist Dom Phillips.

The Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (UNIVAJA), the Observatory for Human Rights of Isolated and Recently Contacted Indigenous Peoples (OPI) and the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB) inform the public that the expert on Indigenous issues Bruno Pereira and the British journalist Dom Phillips have been missing since Sunday morning, June 5th. They were traveling in a small boat from the community of São Rafael to the city of Atalaia do Norte on the Itaquaí river, a tributary of the Javari river, in the State of Amazonas.

Throughout the day on Monday, June 6, the UNIVAJA Patrol Team contacted and solicited action from institutions that operate in this frontier region in order to expand the search effort that the Indigenous team began conducting Sunday, June 5. Their searches during this period failed to locate the two missing men. The Army’s Solimões Border Command/8th Jungle Infantry, the Tabatinga Fluvial Captaincy, the Tabatinga Federal Police, the 8th Battalion of the Military Police and the Federal Public Prosecutor of Tabatinga were all called upon.

With the exception of 6 military police officers and a team from FUNAI (the federal National Indian Foundation), who joined searches with UNIVAJA yesterday (Monday, June 6), the federal agencies mentioned and the armed forces have so far been absent from the search effort. A request to deploy 25 personnel has not been acted upon by the Brazilian Army. The Federal Police sent just a single agent to Atalaia do Norte with officials from the Navy yesterday. We underscore that no task force has been constituted for search operations.

UNIVAJA and the federal Public Defender (DPU) resorted to the Federal Justice System (petition number 1004249-82.2018.4.01.3200) requesting: “a) The Federal government facilitate the use of helicopters by the Federal Police, be they from the Security Forces or the Armed Forces, in light of the fact that at the present moment there are no helicopters, which are essential, supporting the search; b) expansion of the search teams; c) expansion of the number of boats.” The UNIVAJA petition was made due to the need for both aerial and ground-level searching. We underscore that in this region there are Army border troops available. Up until the present moment there are ample Army troops stationed in the area. So far, however, the number of agents made available is miniscule in relation to the urgency to locating Pereira and Phillips.

All day on June 6, UNIVAJA’s requests had the support of members of Congress and the Senate. The Indigenous Caucus presented an official letter to the Ministry of Justice and Public Safety, the national Directorate of the Federal Police and the Superintendent of the Federal Police in Manaus. The offices of Senators Randolfe Rodrigues (REDE) and Jaques Wagner (PT/BA), the minority leadership of the Chamber of Deputies, reiterated the requests to the Ministry of Justice to deploy additional personnel to the search.

On the afternoon of June 6, the Amazon Military Command (CMA) published a note informing the public that it was capable of a “humanitarian search and rescue mission” but that action would only be taken with authorization from the “higher ranks” of the military. Given that the military’s Amazon authorities are expressly endowed with the logistical capacity, infrastructure, operational abilities, and capabilities for immediate intervention, we are perplexed by the delay, hesitation and slow pace of the “higher ranks” in implementing search-and-rescue procedures.

This morning the Special Press Office of the External Relations Ministry (Itamaraty) published a note stating that “the Federal Police Department is engaging in that region and taking all measures to locate them as quickly as possible. The Federal Police made multiple trips collaborating with the Brazilian Navy, which joined the effort to find the two citizens.” This information from the Brazilian government is not true. As of yesterday, the Navy had not initiated any search activities and only a single Federal Police officer had been sent to the area in question.

The principal facts available at this time are that the Civil Police detained two of the main suspects for questioning on Monday evening. They are fishermen identified only by their nicknames, “Churrasco” and “Jâneo.” The two were taken to Atalaia do Norte to provide information to the police. According to the Indigenous organization, the two suspects were released after the intervention of the municipal government of Atalaia do Norte. There is information that a third suspect, known as “Pelado,” is at large in the forest, in the region of the river communities of São Rafael and São Gabriel.

Faced with chaotic situation, UNIVAJA called all relevant institutions to a situation room this morning, June 7, in Atalaia do Norte. The only representatives of government were the six military police agents previously mentioned.
Today the search continues. Groups comprised of UNIVAJA Patrol Teams (EVU) and the Military Police are searching for the two missing men, as well as the suspect reported to be hiding in the forest.

The region where these events are occurring is the stage for serious conflicts and a climate of violence in which loggers, illegal fishermen, and international drug traffickers operate in and around the Javari Valley Indigenous Territory, encouraged by the negligence of the public entities responsible for protection of monitoring of Indigenous lands. This scenario demands an organized, well-coordinated intervention by public safety forces, in close dialogue and cooperation with the local Indigenous organizations, which have led the search effort and investigation from the moment Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips’ absence became apparent.

These events had a tragic precedent in 2019 when the FUNAI contractor Maxciel Pereira dos Santos, of the Javari Valley’s Enthoenvironmental Protection Front, was brutally assassinated by gunmen in Tabatinga. The sense of impunity has grown as Maxciel’s murder, perpetrated, as far as we can determine, by invaders of the Indigenous territory, has remained officially unsolved. The FUNAI protection base on the Ituí river, close to the location of the current incident, has also come under attack, with eight episodes of armed violence against FUNAI agents and the Indigenous personnel working at the base. These and additional incidents have been systematically reported to the authorities by Indigenous organizations, including an action brought by the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil in the Supreme Federal Tribunal under the ADPF number 709.

Given this panorama, the need for immediate investigation and a swift search are of the utmost urgency. Every hour that passes decreases the possibilities that the two missing men will be rescued, while cementing the reign of increasingly confident criminals in a land made lawless by an absent State.

Yesterday information circulated about the limitations of the security forces to obtain, among other resources, helicopters to provide the needed support to search operations. This support to river-based teams is essential given the geographic conditions of the region. The armed forces and public safety apparatus should not spare the effort needed to guarantee basic rights, which are endangered in the current conditions that prevail in the Javari Valley.

In this region, violent invasion of Indigenous and other federal lands and repression of the free press threaten the practice of journalism and the very lives of public servants doing their constitutional duties. Given this drastic fracturing of our democracy’s foundations, the effective and swift intervention of the Brazilian government to locate the expert Bruno Araújo Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips is of the utmost urgency.

We are watching, yet again, as the Bolsonaro government abandons its responsibilities amid escalating violence against Indigenous peoples and defenders of human rights in Brazil. UNIVAJA, the Indigenous movement, and their allies, by contrast are sparing no effort, working constantly in the area of the incident to find our friends Bruno and Dom.

Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas, June 7 2022

Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley – UNIVAJA
Observatory of Human Rights of Isolated and Recently Contacted Indigenous Peoples – Opi
Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon – COIAB
Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil – APIB

“We are not alone”: indigenous leaders in ATL 2022 join forces on behalf of isolated Indigenous Peoples and of recent contact

“We are not alone”: indigenous leaders in ATL 2022 join forces on behalf of isolated Indigenous Peoples and of recent contact

Photo: Pure Juma| COIAB’S communicator

At the Acampamento Terra Livre, in Brasilia, the panel “For the lives of isolated indigenous peoples and recent contact” warned about the attacks and setbacks suffered under the Bolsonaro government

The panel discussion was held this Thursday afternoon, 7, during the 18th Free Land Camp, and was mediated by the Executive Coordinator of Coiab, Angela Kaxuyana, with the participation of Tambura Amondawa, Adriano Karipuna, Junio Yanomami, from Roraima, Ronilson Guajajara, from Maranhão, Beto Marubo (Univaja), Lindomar Terena, Paulo Tupiniquim, Alfredo Marubo, Gilson Mayoruna and Luis Ventura, representative of the Indigenous Missionary Council (Cimi).

Many people do not know, but in Brazil there are several indigenous peoples who have chosen to live away from imposed “civilization”. They are peoples who, for centuries, have resisted colonization and the process of violence since the arrival of the white invader on Brazilian lands.

By choosing to remain in isolation, they seek to have greater control over the relationships they establish with groups or people around them and to continue living by their means, practices and habits. However, in recent years, under the Bolsonaro Government, the Brazilian State has refused to recognise their existence and guarantee their rights.

Beto Marubo, a member of the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (Univaja), attributed the setbacks in the policy of protecting isolated indigenous people to a Bolsonaro policy of genocide of indigenous peoples, which has made the National Indian Foundation (Funai) a threat.

“The Funai was created to protect and should have a responsibility towards these Peoples. Although they are free, they are very vulnerable. Do you know what Funai is doing now? It is denying [the existence of] these Peoples,” emphasized Beto Marubo during the table.

To aggravate the situation, even today there are religious missions that have the intention of colonising the original culture. This represents a great epidemiological threat, which is added to deforestation and the invasion of groups that practice illegal extraction of gold, ore, wood and hunting for trade in these regions.

The Yanomami people are among those who have had the most recent contact. A video was shown with images of the mines inside their territories, the same ones that Bolsonaro proposes to regularize with PL 191. The scenario further accentuates the health problems that the isolated peoples have been facing.

Indigenous leader Júnior Hekurari, of the Yanomami people, president of the District Council for Indigenous Health Yanomami and Ye’kwana (Condisi-YY), stressed that several complaints have already been made at the national and international level about the violence suffered by the isolated and recently contacted peoples in their territories.

“The indigenous land is being invaded by miners. Our relatives are suffering from pneumonia. Every day a Yanomami child dies, the mothers cry together with the forest. More than 25 thousand miners are inside our lands, the miners have taken over the health centers, and the indigenous people are calling for help”, said the Indigenous leader.

Júnior estimated that around 7,000 are sick with malaria. In 2021 alone, 300 children died of the disease, almost one per day. For him, the policy of the Bolsonaro government promotes risk and extermination. “Now Sesai has become a military barrack. There are many colonels, many soldiers working there. The federal government does not plan to guarantee assistance within the community,” he lamented.

Alfredo Marubo, pointed out the deviations in the actions of Funai in this process. “Every day tons of game meat passes in front of the Funai headquarters and nobody does anything. They are doing nothing, they say that we are lying, they do nothing and even threaten the Peoples. Bolsonaro is putting anti-indigenous people to look after the villages, but they just go there for a walk and leave”.

With the ineffectiveness of federal bodies in protecting indigenous rights, exploitation has advanced over the forests and is getting closer every day to the isolated peoples.

In the plenary, the Peoples who had the first contacts centuries ago showed solidarity with these Peoples who are living autonomously in the forest. “We demand respect. We are using this cursed language because we were forced, we were humiliated. We saw our children growing up and dying. Today what is happening in the Amazon, we have already suffered. So we are here to say that you are not alone. We are together. This house belongs to the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil”, chief Júnior Pataxó,from the South of Bahia, expressed solidarity.

The Executive Coordinator of Coiab, Angela Kaxuyana, stressed the importance of this union for the protection of the isolated Peoples, since the Brazilian State has not fulfilled its role of protecting their territories, putting at risk the lives of these Peoples who decided to live in isolation after fleeing from massacres.

“On behalf of COIAB, of the Amazon, we want to express our gratitude and send a message to Bolsonaro that the Amazon is not alone, that it is the essence of this indigenous movement that will win, it is this essence of the indigenous movement that must remain here in the camp of respect, solidarity and a demonstration that we are together. And we have always known, my relatives, that we are never alone, because the Northeast and Apoinme are together with the Amazon”, Angela Kaxuyana concluded.

Deforestation alerts

In 2021, deforestation increased in indigenous lands with the presence of isolated indigenous Peoples, according to the Sirad-I bulletin of the Socio-environmental Institute (ISA). In the year, 3,220 hectares were deforested, with 904 alerts within the territories.

The alerts were concentrated, mainly, in the Piripkura (MT), Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau (RO), Araribóia (MA) and Munduruku (PA) Indigenous Lands. In addition, throughout 2021, it was also possible to detect major deforestation on the edges of these territories, which indicates a tendency of increasing invasions against the territories of these isolated Peoples.

The Araribóia Indigenous Land, located in Maranhão, was one of the most devastated by invasions by loggers and land grabbers, with more than 380 hectares deforested inside it. In addition, in 2021, arson attacks punished the territory.

Isolated or Decimated

The isolated or decimated campaign is headed by the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB) and the Observatory of Human Rights of the Isolated and Newly-Contacted Indigenous Peoples (Opi), and includes the participation of other organizations in the socio-environmental field, such as ISA, Survival International and Operation Native Amazon (OPAN). Launched on August 20, 2021, the campaign is focused on pressuring Funai for the renewal of four ordinances: Piripkura Indigenous Lands (MT), Jacareúba/Katawixi (AM) and Piriti (RR) and Ituna-Itatá IT (PA).

ACCESS: https://www.isoladosoudizimados.org/

Since last year, several actions have been carried out in order to alert public opinion to the current condition of isolated indigenous Peoples who are at risk of losing their territories, without legal and effective protection.

At the end of November 2021, Coiab launched a manifesto in defense of the life of isolated indigenous peoples, where it highlighted that the growing attacks and pressures on the territories are linked to the gradual weakening of FUNAI’s indigenous policy and the strengthening of the government’s anti-indigenous agenda.

Faced with the setbacks of protection by State agencies, the indigenous movement, together with its allies, is strengthening strategies to contain the invasions in the Indigenous Lands, with monitoring and autonomous protection actions in the territory, in order to protect their “isolated relatives”. In addition, they have made numerous complaints and brought legal actions to guarantee the legal protection of their territories and ways of life.

MST and Apib build an united kitchen for 7 thousand indigenous people in Brasília

MST and Apib build an united kitchen for 7 thousand indigenous people in Brasília

By Geanini Hackbardt For Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil – Apib

Close to the plenary tent of the 18th Free Land Camp, it is possible to hear the noise of pans beating, knives cutting and see the food loads arriving all the time. The heat of the cookers in full steam spreads an aroma of abundant and tasty food. Food here has history and the taste of struggle. It is not just anyone’s mission to satisfy the hunger of the more than 7 thousand Indigenous from 200 different Peoples present in Brasilia up to now. And this challenge fell to the warriors of the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST).

Over 400 kilos of meat, two tons of rice and about two tons of beans are served daily in this kitchen, prepared by the careful hands of 31 men and women from the countryside, with the guidance of 3 nutritionists. Nilma de Jesus Ribeiro, from the Roseli Nunes Settlement, coordinates the team and says that “as MST, we always try to work with organic food. Everything we are doing here at the Indigenous Camp is organic and healthy. We use only natural spices, lots of garlic and onions, because it is the garlic that gives flavour to the food, there is no need to use condiments that have a lot of chemistry. It’s very interesting because we start to learn from each other’s culture”.

This space, however, does not only feed the body. The ATL 2022 kitchen feeds the dream of those who believe in the much needed unity of the peoples to take back Brazil. This is what Dinamam Tuxá, Apoinme’s representative and Apib’s executive coordinator, explains to us. “At this moment the ATL seeks to implement healthier food for our People, with an identity that comes with the struggle. All the food that comes here is the result of a history of resistance, the history of the MST, which is also fighting for its territories. Fighting for their space, for Agrarian Reform. And we have agendas in common. For several years, we have been walking together, but always in a political field. Sometimes we have a joint struggle in practice, but this was diffused within the field of action of the social movements and in the Acampamento Terra Livre we managed to materialize the struggle of the indigenous peoples and the struggle of the MST, represented through their food”.

The food comes from agrarian reform areas of the Federal District and surrounding areas, such as the Oziel Alves, Pequeno Wiliam and Roseli Nunes settlements and from the states of Goiás, Rio Grande do Sul and Minas Gerais, says Adonildo Rodrigues Souza, MST coordinator and camper from the 8 de Março area in Planaltina. For him the work in the kitchen is the practice of solidarity which only exists among the working class. “For us, this space is of great importance, not only for the kitchen to be set up, but for the cultivation of the relationship of solidarity. Despite the little difference we have, it is the causes, the agendas that unite us to fight against this fascist government that every day tries to harm us, workers. It is clear that this government acts to exterminate the poor”, he says.

He explains that the menu was designed to cover the cultural diversity of Brazil and the follow up of professional nutritionists seeks to nurture and strengthen the fight. “How in a country like Brazil, where there is no investment in family farming and agrarian reform, can we get so much food from agriculture, without any policy for this? The ones who feed the Brazilian people are family farmers,” says Adonildo. And Nilma proudly shows the food in stock. “We are offering the best of what we have, cassava, couscous, yams, sweet potatoes, bananas, oranges. The meat is also all organic”.

Dinamam highlights the presence of the MST in this edition of ATL as an intentionality. “We know that this unity is what we need to combat this evil that has been installed in Brazil. This evil of hate, of structural racism, of institutional racism that these two movements have been feeling, especially with this policy that does not recognise family farming, that does not recognise traditional farming, that does not encourage actions aimed at strengthening our traditional and family practices. So, we took the decision to unite to strengthen our production chain, to strengthen this relationship that is more than just political, it is a relationship of struggle. This is a unity for all Brazilian people, in the name of the common good.

Indigenous people from all over the country march in Brasilia to defend the demarcation of territories

Indigenous people from all over the country march in Brasilia to defend the demarcation of territories

More than 7 thousand indigenous people, from 200 peoples of Brazil, marched for the demarcation of territories and against the anti-indigenous agenda of the Brazilian government; the march was part of the ATL 2022 programme

The strength of the indigenous peoples took over the streets of the federal capital on the afternoon of Wednesday (6): with banners and chants, more than 7 thousand indigenous people from 200 peoples from all regions of the country marched in defense of the demarcation of territories and against the anti-indigenous agenda of the Brazilian government. The march was part of the programme of the 18th Free Land Camp (Acampamento Terra Livre – ATL) 2022, located outside the Funarte Cultural Complex, on the Monumental Axis in Brasilia.

The final destination of the march was the National Congress, where projects that violate the rights of indigenous peoples are being processed, such as Bill 191/2020, which opens the way for the exploitation of the lands of Indigenous peoples, and the bill 490/2007, which makes the demarcation of indigenous lands unfeasible in practice.

During the mobilization, leaders spoke from a sound car and stressed the importance of arriving in Brasilia this week to fight for the indigenous cause.

Samuel Gavião spoke about his struggle, as a student, to win the rights protected by the 1988 Federal Constitution. “We are studying to seek our right, what is ours. We have to fight. Our relatives trust us and put us forward to fight alongside them, to return to our lands. We will not give up. We will fight with strength, we are not a minority, we are many. We will fight until the end, while we are alive”, he said.

Also present at the march, Agnaldo Francisco, Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe leader and general coordinator of the United Movement of Indigenous Peoples and Organizations of Bahia (Mupoiba), commented on the first march of ATL 2022, named “Demarcation Now”.

“This act today [6] is very important to show Brazilian society that people will not be able to live without the demarcation of our territories, because if the territory is not demarcated, a project of death will be implemented. Death not only for us [indigenous peoples], but for all Brazilians, for the whole planet. The demarcation of our territory means the preservation of the environment, it means preserving and reducing the depletion of the ozone layer”, explained the Mupoiba coordinator.

ATL 2022

Considered the largest indigenous mobilization in Brazil, the camp takes place at the same time that the National Congress and the government are voting on projects that violate the rights of indigenous peoples.

The mobilisation is organised by the Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib), which returns to Brasília this year with the theme ‘Retaking Brazil: Demarcate the Territories and Indigenize thePolitics’. The ATL closes on April 14.

Access the programme here.

Milestone Thesis (Tese do Marco Temporal)

On the first day of the camp, Sônia Guajajara, executive coordinator of Apib, said during a press conference that the peoples are preparing to return in June to the capital, when the Federal Supreme Court (STF) will judge the Milestone Thesis. This trial will define the future of indigenous land demarcations in Brazil.

Apib highlights that the Milestone Thesis restricts the right of communities to the lands they traditionally occupy and is repudiated by indigenous peoples, who point to the thesis as unconstitutional.

In 2019, the STF recognised the general repercussion of Extraordinary Appeal (RE) 1.017.365, a case that discusses a repossession suit filed against the Xokleng people in Santa Catarina. This means that the decision taken in this trial will have consequences for all the indigenous lands and Peoples in Brazil.

Indigenous peoples make massive protest against climate destruction in Brazil

Indigenous peoples make massive protest against climate destruction in Brazil

Considered the largest indigenous mobilization in Brazil, the ATL completes 18 years and will take place between 04 and 14 April 

The Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib) will hold the 18th edition of the Free Land Encampment (Acampamento Terra Livre – ATL) between 4 and 14 April, in Brasília (Federal District). With the theme ‘Retaking Brazil: Demarcate the territories and Indigenize the politics, in 2022 the mobilization returns to Brasilia after two years of online activities due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Encampment will take place in the same period in which the National Congress and the Federal Government are voting on projects that violate the rights of indigenous peoples such as Bill 191/2020. The bill opens indigenous lands – most of them located in the Amazon – to large-scale exploitation, such as mining, hydroelectric dams and other infrastructure projects. 

On March 9, 2022, the plenary of the Brazilian Congress approved the request of the government leader for the urgent processing of PL 191/2020. It means the proposal will be analyzed by a working group and will be included for a vote in plenary between 12 and 13 April – during the ATL.

The Encampment also takes place in parallel with, climate litigation actions are also being judged by the Supreme Court that directly dialogue with indigenous claims. In addition to such climate litigation, APIB warns about the trial of the Milestone Thesis that will be resumed in the Supreme Court within this semester; and also for the Package of Destructiona set of measures planned to be voted in Congress this year and and which has the power to accelerate deforestation and weaken environmental legislation.

ATL’s Program

The ATL will have ten days of programming and over 40 activities. In addition to confronting the anti-indigenous agenda, indigenous health and education and the role of youth are some of the topics that will be part of the debates.

Expecting to mobilize more than 100 indigenous ethnics groups from all regions of the country, and adding this cultural diversity to the political demands, the first week of the camp will be marked by the debate “Indigenize the Politics: We stand for those who came before us, we stand for us and we stand for those who are to come”, which aims to strengthen indigenous women for Elections 2022. Also part of the first week’s program are plenaries on the struggle for life, impacts on the judiciary, demarcation and public policies.  

Closing the ATL, the second week’s programme will have a plenary on the LGBTQIA+ population, articulation with other social movements and a call for actions. 

Sonia Guajajara, executive coordinator of Apib says:

“Since the first days of this government we have been shouting and denouncing the persecutions against the indigenous peoples. There are innumerable threats due to the failure to demarcate our lands, in addition to deforestation and invasion of our territories. They act on two fronts: the persecutions against our leaders who oppose this misgovernment of Jair Bolsonaro; and the Congress trying to use the ink of the pen to massacre us”.

Dinamam Tuxá, executive coordinator of Apib says:

“We are in an election year and to start our journey of struggles we declare that this is the last year of the genocidal government of Jair Bolsonaro. Our Indigenous April will be marked by symbolic actions that will show our capacity in fight for demarcation and villagisation in Brazilian politics”

Retaking Brazil: Demarcate the Territories and Indigenize the Politics

Retaking Brazil: Demarcate the Territories and Indigenize the Politics

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Full schedule coming soon

We are at the 18th Edition of Free Land Camp (Acampamento Terra Livre ATL in Portuguese), after two years of virtual performance, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in which we lost many of our own. However, we continue with the forces of ancestry, getting back up to return to face-to-face actions with the theme: “Retaking Brazil: Demarcate the Territories and Indigenize the Politics”. This year, we will occupy the federal capital from April 4th to 14th.

We are in an election year in Brazil and to start our journey of struggles, we declare this to be the last year of the Genocidal government. Our “Indigenous April” will be marked by symbolic actions that will show our ability to fight for the demarcation and indigenization of Brazilian politics.

We start from the efforts in virtual and territories places of political and social action, based on our ancestral wisdom, in the care for the people and for the Brazilian territory to say: “yes, politics will be an indigenous territory!”. Our aim is to promote good living, reforest minds and indigenize politics. A joint and democratic way of deciding and leading futures.

We are facing urgent agendas that threaten our lives and traditions. The demarcation of our territories remains as our main flag, so the defense for life against the destruction agenda is our priority.

There is an incessant attempt to implement death projects against our territories and lives. One of the central proposals of the current federal government is the opening of Indigenous Lands for large-scale mining, hydroelectric and large infrastructure projects. Bill 191/2020 is one of the main instruments of this destruction policy, which has been presented as a legislative priority of the federal government since its inception. Although it is still in the legislative process for possible regulation, it is already possible to feel the harmful impacts of mining on indigenous territories. We have seen the contamination of our rivers and the devastation of our forests and entire communities that, when not destroyed or washed away by the toxic mud from leaking mineral waste dams, were left without access to water.

The government’s anti-indigenous agenda is constantly in action, such as the bill 490/2007, which insists on the end of demarcations, on the review of indigenous lands and, nevertheless, seeks to legalize crimes in our Territories. In addition to the projects on the National Congress’ priority agenda, such as: bill 6299/2002 – Pesticides, bill 2633/2020 and bill 510/2021 – Land grabbing and bill 3729/2004 – Environmental Licensing.

We also warn about the trial of the Milestone framework thesis (Marco Temporal) that will be resumed at the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in the first half of 2022. It is one of the most important trials in history, which will define the course of the demarcation of Indigenous Lands.

Indigenous April is the month of the great popular mobilizations of the Brazilian indigenous movement! In this way, we will occupy the capital of Brazil to claim our rights guaranteed in the 1988 Constitution.

Our fight is for the land, for life, for our natural resources and for the sovereignty of the Brazilian people!

Brasília, April, 17th 2022

EXECUTIVE COORDINATION
Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil
APOINME | ARPIN SUDESTE | ARPINSUL | COIAB | Comissão Guarani Yvyrupa | Conselho do Povo Terena | ATY GUASU

Investment funds injected US$ 54.1 billion into mining companies with interests in Indigenous territories in the Amazon

Investment funds injected US$ 54.1 billion into mining companies with interests in Indigenous territories in the Amazon

Brasília, February 22, 2022 – Today the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), alongside environmental and human rights organization Amazon Watch, launched Complicity in Destruction IV: How mining companies and international investors drive Indigenous rights violations and threaten the future of the Amazon. This research is the first compilation of case studies exposing International actors’ risks of potentially financing illegal mining interests on Indigenous Lands – such as Xikrin do Cateté, Waimiri Atroari, and Sawré Muybu – in the Brazilian Amazon. U.S.-based corporations remain some of the main financiers complicit in this destruction. Together, Capital Group, BlackRock, and Vanguard invested US$ 14.8 billion dollars in the nine companies investigated due to their research applications overlapping Indigenous lands, and track record of rights violations.

“While we struggle to guarantee our right to life, both in our territories and around the world, the Brazilian government and mining companies are trying to advance a ‘project of death.’ We cannot go on living side by side with activities that force Indigenous peoples to mourn the daily murder of our relatives, or to witness the destruction of biomes which we guard, in order to give way to projects that generate no real development, but only destruction and profits for a handful of individuals,” says Sonia Guajajara, of APIB’s executive coordination.

Complicity in Destruction IV reveals that over the last five years, Vale, Anglo American, Belo Sun, Potássio do Brasil, Mineração Taboca and Mamoré Mineração e Metalurgia (both from Grupo Minsur), Glencore, AngloGold Ashanti and Rio Tinto received a total of US$ 54.1 billion in financing from U.S., Brazilian and international investors. The companies profiled share a history of human and environmental rights violations and a long-lasting interest in expanding their operations into Indigenous territories – where mining is currently illegal.

“There must be a general understanding that these areas are not available for mineral exploration, nor should they be, both because there must be respect for our constitutional right to self-determination as Indigenous peoples over our territories, and because of our lands’ importance in combating climate change and guaranteeing life on the planet. The same goes for traditional territories and other areas of preservation. This understanding must come from the Brazilian government, but also from the companies – which are fully capable of proactively knowing in which areas they are filing requests – and from the financial corporations that finance them,” adds Dinaman Tuxá, from APIB’s executive coordination.

Brazilian institutions also hold a substantial share in the financing of large mining: PREVI (Banco do Brasil’s Employee Pension Fund) holds the highest investments in these mining companies, with more than US$ 7.4 billion, followed by the private bank Bradesco, with almost 4.4 billion dollars, Caixa Econômica Federal, with US$ 786 million. International private banks also stand out for their investments in these companies, including Crédit Agricole (France), Bank of America and Citigroup (U.S.), Commerzbank (Germany), and SMBC Group (Japan). All of these financial actors are complicit in mining-driven destruction.

“The COVID-19 pandemic, instead of bringing extractive industries to a standstill, actually drove the mining sector to break profit records over the last two years. These banks and asset managers still believe that investing in mining is ‘good’ for business, ignoring the extensive history of violations and impacts caused by this industry. Although many financiers were featured in previous editions of the report, this new edition demonstrates the urgency with which they need to commit to actual change in order to stop mining’s destructive trail. Their risk and exposure are only growing,” says Rosana Miranda, Campaign Advisor of Amazon Watch.

The company that received the most investments and loans in this period was Vale, with US$ 35.8 billion, showing that not even the successive disasters in the towns of Mariana and Brumadinho reduced investors’ appetite for the mining company. The data, obtained with the support of the Dutch institution Profundo Research and Advice, also show Canada’s interest in financing mining in Brazil. The Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest private bank, poured US$ 512 million into mining companies, and is the main institutional investor of the Volta Grande gold mining project, by Belo Sun Mining Corp, which is considered both socially and ecologically unfeasible.

Mining companies hold active applications to explore Indigenous lands

Complicity in Destruction IV reveals that, despite recent statements by big mining companies claiming they would abandon their interests in Indigenous territories in Brazil, thousands of mining applications overlapping these areas are still active in the National Mining Agency’s (ANM) database. Opening up Indigenous lands to mining and prospecting remains at the center of Bolsonaro’s agenda. With the advancement of federal policies such as Bill 191/2020 and Bill 490/2007 in Congress, these applications serve to grant mining companies priority to explore these territories if the bills succeed.

“The environmental damages and threats against the lives of forest peoples by mining activities are brutal and have only worsened under Bolsonaro’s administration. Last year, mining-related deforestation in the Amazon increased by 62% compared to 2018 – the year he was elected. We are aware that the approval of Bill 191 could cause the loss of 16 million hectares of the Amazonian rainforest. With the rainforest at the tipping point of ecological collapse, we need to involve all the actors behind this industry. Governments, companies, and investors must all be held to account and stop this destruction. If companies fail to act, investors must divest,” says Ana Paula Vargas, Brazil Program Director of Amazon Watch.

 

Following the release of Complicity in Destruction III, APIB and Amazon Watch began mapping the interests of large mining companies overlapping Indigenous lands in 2020. Despite statements by giants such as Vale and Anglo American, claiming they would withdraw their applications for research and mineral exploration in these territories, our research shows that many applications remain active in ANM’s system—in some cases, there was even an increase in the number of requests. Additionally, some applications were resubmitted so that exploration areas remained directly adjacent to Indigenous lands, still causing enormous impact.

The report focuses on the mining interests in Indigenous lands from nine companies: Vale, Anglo American, Belo Sun, Potássio do Brasil, Mineração Taboca/Mamoré Mineração e Metalurgia (both from Grupo Minsur), Glencore, AngloGold Ashanti and Rio Tinto. Together, as of November 2021, they had a total of 225 active mining applications overlapping 34 Indigenous Lands — an area that corresponds to 5,700 square kilometers or more than three times the city of London. 

The Indigenous lands that are most affected by these applications are Xikrin do Cateté (PA), Waimiri Atroari (AM), and Sawré Muybu (PA). The bulk of applications are concentrated in the Brazilian state of Pará, which increased twofold between July and November 2021. The data was obtained through a partnership with the Mined Amazon project, from the InfoAmazonia portal, which resulted in an interactive dashboard — launched in tandem with the report — allowing real-time searches into the ANM database.

Complicity in Destruction IV also details the impacts and rights violations carried out by the mining companies Vale, Anglo American, Belo Sun, Potássio do Brasil, and Mineração Taboca in five case studies. With the support of the Mining Observatory, the history of these conflicts and their current developments were outlined, ranging from the invasion of traditional territories, contamination by heavy metals, and disregard for the right to Free, Prior, Informed consultation and Consent. Through testimonies from the affected communities, which challenge the companies’ official statements about their initiatives, the report shows how the presence and activities of these corporations forever alter the lives of these peoples and communities. Mining in the Amazon, specifically within Indigenous communities, can also destroy ecosystems and contribute to climate change.

 

To access the full report, videos, and Mined Amazon’s dashboard, visit: https://complicityindestruction.org/

 

World Leaders Summit: Indigenous peoples and local communities should be part of announced financial mechanisms to secure land tenure in the fight against climate change

World Leaders Summit: Indigenous peoples and local communities should be part of announced financial mechanisms to secure land tenure in the fight against climate change

The Global Alliance of Territorial Communities issues a statement calling for a stronger commitment to land tenure as a key climate solution .
Declaration issued by: the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin (COICA) and its member organizations from the nine countries of the Amazon basin; the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB) and its member organizations from six Mesoamerican countries; the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB); the Network of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities for the Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystems (REPALEF) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN), which represents 17 million Indigenous Peoples throughout Indonesi

As an organization that represents Indigenous Peoples and local communities in 24 tropical forest countries, the pledge made at this World Leaders Summit to allocate $19.2 billion to support the recognition of land rights for Indigenous peoples and local communities is good news–and we are pleased by it. In making this commitment, major public and private funders acknowledge the critical role that we play in the fight against climate change and underscore the urgent priority that should be securing tenure over our lands.
However, we cannot receive this news with enthusiasm because we were not consulted in the design of this pledge. We suspect that many of these funds will be distributed through existing climate finance mechanisms, which have demonstrated great limitations in reaching our territories and supporting our initiatives. Furthermore, millions of dollars have already been invested to protect forests and halt deforestation, but have yielded minimal results. This is because governments are not present in these territories, which limits their capacity to implement long-term policies that protect natural resources.
Of the total funding committed to reduce deforestation, only a small fraction is likely to reach Indigenous Peoples organizations and local communities, as most of the funding flows through large intermediaries with excessive bureaucracy. Our suspicions are confirmed by the fact that practically none of these announcements have been previously consulted with us or our member organizations.
Nevertheless, we also have good news to contribute. Given that public and private donors, as well as philanthropies, have difficulty delivering funds at the community level, we have developed a series of recommendations to facilitate this process. These recommendations make up a new vision, the Shandia Vision: a financing ecosystem that will finally allow financial support to reach our territories.
As the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, we commit to holding governments and investors accountable for the financial promises they made today, within the framework of our Shandia Vision, and we invite international cooperation to build a new mechanism for delivering climate finance. One that can truly reach the territories where the preservation of biodiversity and carbon stock is at stake.
“We protect most of the world’s remaining biodiversity, yet we receive less than one percent of international donor funding,” said Joseph Itongwa Mukumu, an Indigenous Walikale from the Democratic Republic of Congo who serves as coordinator for the Network of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities for the Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystems (REPALEF). “If it is serious about ensuring that the forests remain standing, the global community must do more to recognize the rights of Indigenous peoples and to support our traditional governance structures.”
“We propose a new way of investing resources directly into our communities, who are on the frontlines of climate change and risk our lives to protect nature. Transforming the way climate finance is delivered locally would ensure a greater impact for the good of all humanity,” said Tuntiak Katan, an indigenous leader from Ecuador, and head of the Global Alliance.
Forests managed by Indigenous peoples and local communities have lower deforestation rates than similar lands managed by others. Between 2000 and 2012, for example, the average annual deforestation rates in our forests in Bolivia, Brazil, and Colombia were two to three times lower than those not managed by Indigenous peoples. But those gains come only when our communities have secure rights over their land, which is why funding such initiatives must be of paramount importance.
In addition to the recognition and protection of our communal land rights and customary tenure systems, we demand compensation for the range of ecosystem services—including protection from emerging pandemics—generated from our lands. We demand that investment decisions be determined from within our communities and that our elected leaders and traditional ways of life be respected in all decision-making arenas. And we request direct financing to support our efforts to sustainably manage our land and resources, with tools for monitoring and protecting it from intruders such as agribusiness and illegal miners and loggers.
“The commitment announced today to halt forest loss and protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights is long overdue,” said Mina Setra, an indigenous leader from Indonesia, and the Deputy Secretary General of the Indigenous People’s Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN). “We applaud the governments and donors involved for taking this step to protect our rights and the global climate. However, this pledge must not replace the fundamental actions they must take to stop their companies’ from bulldozing our ancestral forests. To fulfill their mission and avoid a climate catastrophe, they must stop all deforestation on the lands of Indigenous Peoples and Local communities and work with us to protect the world’s last remaining tropical forests.”

Indigenous People are heading to COP26: “There is no solution to the climate crisis, without us”

Indigenous People are heading to COP26: “There is no solution to the climate crisis, without us”

Indigenous movement mobilized the largest delegation of Brazilian leaders in the history of the climate conference to put forward the demarcation of indigenous lands as a solution

The Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib), together with all its grassroots organizations, mobilized the largest delegation of Brazilian indigenous leaders in the history of the Climate Conference (COP26) to discuss solutions to the climate crisis. More than 40 representatives of the Indigenous Peoples will be in Glasgow, Scotland, between October 31st and November 12th with the proposal to occupy the Conference and alert the world about the need to demarcate the Indigenous Lands and protect the Indigenous Peoples for the future of the planet.

“We stand against false solutions based on technological innovations designed from the same developmental and productivist logic that causes climate change. We criticize solutions that do not recognize indigenous peoples and local communities as central to the defence of forests, the reduction of deforestation and fires, and as essential to ensure that we reach the stated goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.,” says an excerpt from Apib’s message to world leaders, businessmen and civil society organizations attending COP26.

The Brazilian indigenous delegation at the conference will denounce the ongoing indigenous genocide and ecocide that is underway in Brazil, aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Federal Government’s death project. On the international day of indigenous peoples, August 9, Apib filed an Unprecedented denounce at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to denounce the Bolsonaro government for Genocide.

“We have shaped and protected our biomes at the price of millions of our relatives. The genocide of the original people, the persecution of the defenders of territories and the illegal capture of our lands, is the largest and most widespread crime that humanity has produced throughout its history. This is a continuous and present crime, which we denounce in all the instances that we occupy”, reinforces the delegation in its message.

According to the delegation’s organization, this is the largest delegation of Brazilian indigenous leaders in the history of the COP. Apib has participated in the conference since 2014, and had mobilized, in 2019, a group of 18 people for the last COP, which was until then the largest participation of leaders in the meeting. In this context of the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected billions of people, indigenous people reinforce the need to respect the biodiversity present in indigenous territories.

For the indigenous delegation, the current policy of the Federal Government is harmful to the environment, the climate and traditional communities. Apib and its indigenous organizations have constantly denounced the invasions of territories, the contamination of rivers and springs by pesticides and mercury, the rampant deforestation of the Amazon forest, the Cerrado, and the Pantanal wetlands. According to the organization, despite this scenario, economic funds continue to financially support the unbridled greed that destroys the planet.

Even though they are responsible for protecting the largest part of the global forest heritage and, consequently, the capacity to store more than 293 gigatonnes of carbon, a third of indigenous and community lands in 64 countries are under threat due to the lack of land tenure rights.

Brazil, which originally was all Indigenous Land, today reserves only 13.8% of the national territory for its original people. And this portion of the territory has been the most preserved during the past 35 years, representing less than 1% of deforestation in Brazil in the period, according to data from Mapbiomas. This percentage does not mean the full extent of forests protected by indigenous peoples and, according to Apib, in addition to the halt in the demarcation of Indigenous Lands, traditional territories already demarcated are under strong legislative threat, in an unconstitutional attempt to deny the traditional presence of indigenous peoples in the country, and the occupation of their lands long before the formation of the Brazilian state.

“We are going to Glasgow to once again alert the world, and on this occasion with even more gravity: humanity is leading the destiny of all of us to chaos and death! Our Mother Earth is exhausted. The future of the planet and the species that inhabit it depend on our global capacity for cooperation to defend and strengthen indigenous peoples and local communities, to guarantee the security of traditional territories in the face of predatory economic interests, and to create and promote effective climate solutions based on nature and the communities that protect it,” reinforces the delegation.

Messages

Read Apib’s message to world leaders,policy makers, business leaders and civil society organizations gathered at COP26 here.

Read the declaration of the Brazilian indigenous population against the climate crisis (specifically of the Amazon) prepared by the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon here

Service

What: Indigenous people from all regions of Brazil mobilized the largest delegation in the history of the Climate Conference.
When: October 31st – November 12th
Where: Glasgow, Scotland

Press contact:

Caio Mota (Apib): +55 65 99686-6289
Hony Sobrinho (Apib): +55 61 8210-1165
Paulo Martins (Apib): +55 11 95658-0753