Indigenous land in Pará has deforestation due to pesticides – 10/06/2023 – Environment

Teams responsible for an ongoing operation in the Apyterewa Indigenous Land, in Pará, detected the deforestation of 1,125 hectares of forest. There is a suspicion that the deforestation was carried out using one of the most aggressive and damaging techniques for destroying the forest: the aerial throwing of pesticides. Exams will be carried out for evaluation.

The case was identified this Thursday (5), in an overflight carried out by agents from Ibama (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) and Funai (National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples), with support from the PRF (Federal Highway Police). ).

On Monday (2), the federal government began an operation to remove invaders from the two most deforested indigenous lands in the country: Apyterewa and Trincheira Bacajá, both in Pará. To this end, a task force is trying to put an end to a village that emerged within one of the two territories, with churches, bars, restaurants, gas stations and hotels.

The invasion involves 1,600 families, according to the MPI (Ministry of Indigenous Peoples). Agents responsible for the operation say that the invaders could number up to 15 thousand people.

In the territories, 2,500 indigenous Parakanãs, Mebengôkres Kayapós and Xikrims live in 51 villages. The advance of invaders was due to the overt action of squatters and land grabbers, with deforestation of areas and cattle ranching in an attempt to consolidate the invasion. The deintrusion carried out by the government complies with decisions of the Federal Court and the STF (Supreme Federal Court).

Ibama is now investigating whether, to deforest, one of the techniques used was the dumping of pesticides on trees, with the aim of defoliating and killing the vegetation, to facilitate cutting.

In an overflight carried out by agents from Ibama and Funai, according to information from the group responsible for the extrusion, coordinated by the General Secretariat of the Presidency, the images indicate the use of the technique. Laboratory analyzes will be performed to complete the evaluation.

Defoliant-type pesticides must have been used for deforestation, depending on the agents involved in the action. A large area was impacted, with distinct coloration of the tree leaves due to the probable throwing of the material.

According to Ibama, residents close to the area confirmed that a plane was used to apply the pesticide. The objective, in these cases, is to cause the leaves to fall, to complete the opening of the area through fire. Chainsaws are also used in the process, which ends with the opening of pastures for cattle.

The inspection action detected remains of a camp in the area. There were no people in the place at the time of the action.

The disintrusion of Apyterewa and Trincheira Bacajá has been planned within the MPI since at least August. It was placed at the top of the priorities, due to the advance of squatters and land grabbers, especially during the years of the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government.

The main difficulty is the removal of the invaders’ cattle, according to the agents involved in the operation.

There is still strong local political resistance to deintrusion and an illegal attempt to reduce the size of the two indigenous lands in order to accommodate the invaders.

The STF ordered the removal of invaders from seven indigenous lands, including Trincheira Bacajá, in decisions taken from May 2021. The Bolsonaro government disrespected the decision, and the Lula (PT) government has been carrying out disintrusion actions at a slow pace .

The list of seven territories includes Yanomami land, a territory where a deintrusion operation has been underway since February. More than 20 thousand miners had invaded the space, on the Roraima side.

Data from MapBiomas, a network made up of NGOs, universities and technology companies, show that Apyterewa was the most deforested indigenous land in the country in recent years: 8,247 hectares in 2021 and 10,525 hectares in 2022. In 2021, Trincheira Bacajá was the second most deforested, with a loss of 2,620 hectares.

The two territories are between the municipalities of São Félix do Xingu, Altamira, Anapu and Senador José Porfírio, in Pará.

The federal government, faced with resistance from invaders, established a deadline for voluntary departure, with goods and livestock: until the 31st. The statement made states that the court decision determines immediate withdrawal, but that there will be a period of almost a month for for families to leave indigenous lands.

A registry of squatters has been carried out by teams from Incra (National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform). The deintrusion is expected to last 90 days, with actions remaining to prevent the return of invaders.