Porto Velho
– New data from forest monitoring and overflights[1] conducted by Greenpeace Brazil, the Karipuna Indigenous People and the Brazilian NGO Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI), exposed a new wave of forest destruction on the Karipuna Indigenous Land in Rondônia, Brazil. The deforestation converts rainforest into pasture for cattle and paves the way for the expansion of soy farming on former cattle pastures. 850 hectares of illegal deforestation were detected in the last twelve months within the territory[2]. The massive land grabbing and big scale destruction of protected rainforest are putting the survival of the Karipuna Indigenous People at risk.
Adriano Karipuna, leader of the Karipuna Indigenous People, said: “The forest monitoring, we Karipuna do, help us to understand what happens inside our land and is crucial for denouncing these illegal activities. The state must implement a permanent protection plan for our land, aiming to put an end to the land grabbing.”
The increased invasions into protected areas by criminal groups can be seen as a direct result of a new law[3] approved by the Rondônia parliament in April 2021, reducing two protected areas directly connected to the Karipuna Indigenous Land by more than 225.408 hectares. Furthermore, the regional government plans to change the ecological zoning[4], transforming pristine rainforest into agricultural land, with devastating consequences.
Laura Vicuña, a missionary with CIMI Rondônia, who has worked closely with Indigenous Peoples for 23 years, said: “The climate crisis begins here, with Indigenous territories being looted and Indigenous People being attacked while a negligent and conniving government does not fulfill its role to protect our people and natural resources. To mitigate impacts of the climate emergency, governments must increase protected lands instead of shrinking them.”
The forest monitoring revealed large clear-cut areas of over 100 hectares in the southeast of the Karipuna land, where the remaining vegetation was set on fire to make space for cows. Cattle ranching in the municipality of Porto Velho, where the land of the Karipuna is located, increased by 87% in the last nine years. In parallel, soy production in the state of Rondônia, has tripled in 10 years and competes with the existing agricultural production of cattle on converted forest land.[5] Industrial animal farming in countries such as the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, Mexico, Italy and the UK – counting for over 80% of Rondônia’s soy exports[6] – are co-responsible for this race for suitable land for soy, which in return pushes the cattle deeper into the rainforest and invades protected areas and Indigenous lands. This destruction is also fueled by a mega-infrastructure project building new roads, rails and ports – the Northern Corridor – which is increasing the logistical capacity in Rondônia to transport soy from the Amazon to the global market, primarily the EU and China.
Oliver Salge, Head of the All eyes on the Amazon Project at Greenpeace Brazil, said: “While the world must find solutions to the climate emergency at the upcoming COP26, the Brazilian government does exactly the opposite and enables criminals to invade protected areas and destroy the home of Indigenous Peoples. The EU and other international markets are complicit in this disaster by consuming soy and meat without strong sustainable criteria. To make sure the Paris Agreement is taken seriously, political leaders must pass, monitor and enforce laws, such as the to guarantee Indigenous and community land rights, all of which are vital to save the Amazon rainforest and the world’s climate.”
