‘Garimpo threatens sanctuary of giant trees in the Amazon’ – 03/21/2023 – Environment

When forestry engineer Jakeline Pereira began her wanderings through the Paru State Forest, in the north of the state of Pará, she could not imagine walking alongside the largest trees in Latin America.

In 2007, as a beginner researcher at the Instituto do Homem e Meio Environment da Amazônia (Imazon), Pereira’s mission was to map every trace of human presence in the newly created conservation unit. More than a decade later, in September 2022, an expedition confirmed the presence of the largest tree in Latin America at the site.

At 88.5 meters high, the red angelim, estimated to be between 400 and 600 years old, is equivalent to a 30-story building stuck in the woods. Close to it, other giants stand out, and science still does not know how to explain why these specimens grew so much there, since the average height of the species (Dinizia excelsa) is 50 meters.

“The region that houses the giant trees is on the side where the prospectors are. It is a very large area, with a very dense forest”, says Pereira in an interview with DW.

A specialist in protected areas in the Amazon, Pereira was the researcher responsible for the management plan for the Paru forest, which extends over an area of ​​3.6 million hectares and is home to species that only exist there. She says that deforestation has grown in the region due to illegal farms that have been installed in the area.

“There is nothing invented in the world that captures carbon better than tropical forests. This explains the world’s interest in the Amazon. It is a carbon storage factory and a water production pump for all of Brazil and other countries”, says the expert. about the importance of conserving the region.

Was the Paru State Forest (Flota) conservation unit, where the giant tree sanctuary is located, already born at great risk? Yes. I started my work there in 2007, when I joined Imazon as a researcher shortly after the creation of the Paru State Forest. It became a conservation unit in December 2006 by the government of the state of Pará.

I was responsible for the socioeconomic diagnosis of this conservation unit and two others. I visited all the communities, or places where there was some sign of human presence. I passed through areas where Brazil nuts are collected and also where mining takes place.

When the Flota was created, mining already existed in the area. I interviewed the prospectors who were there, and also the chestnut trees. The mission was to carry out the diagnosis, which helped to prepare the unit’s management plan, published in 2010. I led this process and, since then, I have been working on implementing the plan.

Was the presence of the giant trees not known until then? The discovery of the giant tree sanctuary took place during a survey by the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), between 2016 and 2018. The researchers flew over with equipment that detailed the carbon biomass in the forests. When they passed by Flota with the plane doing detailed mapping, they discovered that there was something very special in that region, called Vale do Jari.

The Federal University of the Jequitinhonha and Mucuri Valleys and the Federal Institute of Amapá, institutions that worked on this project, set up a laboratory to study the region and began to make expeditions to locate the trees. There have been four expeditions so far.

In September 2022, with the support of Imazon, which already knew the area, on the expedition, the group discovered the largest tree in Latin America, an 88.5-meter red angelim. It is something equivalent to two and a half times the statue of Christ the Redeemer. Around it, other trees were discovered with more than 70 meters, which is very rare to happen.

The region that houses the giant trees is on the side where the miners are. It is a very large area, it has dense forest. There are no permanent homes, with the exception of the prospectors who are close by. Only chestnut trees go there to collect chestnuts, there are no communities there. It is a region of rather difficult access.

At the time when the management plan was being drawn up, the diagnosis of biodiversity was difficult to carry out, a war operation was necessary, with the use of helicopters and the setting up of camps.

The region is conserved almost in its entirety. There are more recent deforestation problems and gold miners. The trees are still there because access is very difficult.

Is it already known why these trees are so big? No. Various materials were collected for DNA and soil analyses. It is estimated that they are between 400 and 600 years old. The researchers collected biological material from the trees to understand why. Everything is still under investigation.

This region of the sanctuary has a very old geological formation, known in academic circles as the Guiana Shield. It is an area that has species that only exist there, called endemic. It is even classified as a very important center of endemism for conservation, which is why the units were created in this location.

Due to the difficulty of access, there are few studies in this enormous territory. The Paru Flota is part of a group of protected areas comprising 22 million hectares. It’s a huge block, a great corridor of biodiversity.

What are the main threats that this area currently faces? The main threat is mining. It’s next to the shrine. To access this region, to visit the sanctuary, you have to go through the mines. On the first expedition, the researchers had problems with the miners, who didn’t want them to go that way. In the last one, a lot of machinery was sighted.

Deforestation is taking place in the conservation unit. It is deforestation due to the installation of farms, so-called private properties, of people who are migrating to the state of Pará.

Land grabbing? Land grabbing, totally. We ran a campaign to protect the giant trees and put pressure on the state government to cancel the Rural Environmental Registers (CAR) that were inside. They canceled 456 registrations! Can you believe? That was the number of people who declared they had properties within the conservation unit!

Since 2019, there has been an increase in deforestation in the region. There is a lot of land speculation because they register with the intention of selling the property. And there is an absence of the state in relation to inspection.

The Flota do Paru is our heritage. Protected areas are a heritage of all Brazilians. When land grabbers are allowed to enter a property, an area created to provide us with environmental services, it is a crime.

Paru provides Brazil nuts, wood, clean water, clean air, and enables tourism. When the state allows others to deforest, it harms everyone. This does not bring jobs, income, does not bring taxes. It only brings problems to all Brazilians. We are being robbed.

What is the importance of maintaining a forest like this, with giant trees that only exist there? There is nothing that has been invented in the world that captures carbon better than tropical forests. This explains the worldwide interest in the Amazon. It is a carbon storage factory and a water production pump for all of Brazil and other countries. It recycles rainwater in the South, Midwest, Southeast. It is a producer of water and food.

Flota do Paru produces chestnuts, medicine, and many other good things for us that we haven’t even discovered yet. Just as this giant tree was discovered, we have to increase research to find cures for other diseases. There is our pharmacy. Forests are very important.