Mundurukus seek suspicious company for carbon credit – 11/01/2023 – Environment

Munduruku indigenous people suspected of illegal mining in their own territory developed a carbon credit project in partnership with a company accused of irregularities in other initiatives to generate these credits in the Amazon.

The project was put into practice without consulting most of the villages in the Mundurucu Indigenous Land, in Pará, especially those that oppose gold mining in their traditional territory – the vast majority of communities are against illegal mining.

The case began to be investigated by the MPF (Federal Public Ministry) in Pará, which is investigating a “possible disrespect for the procedure for prior, free and informed consultation with the Mundurukus”.

The Prosecutor’s Office demanded explanations from the Pusuru Indigenous Association, which houses mundurukus reported by the MPF to the Federal Court for criminal association and illegal mining, and from AGFOR Empreendimentos, the company that partnered with the indigenous people to develop the carbon credit project.

According to the MPF, federal government bodies were also officiated, such as Funai (National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples) and Ibama (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources).

AGFOR Empreendimentos is a company owned by North American Michael Greene, based in Guarulhos (SP), according to information provided to the Federal Revenue Service. Greene is linked to other ventures that bear the AGFOR name, such as Brazil AGFOR.

The report from Sheet found that at the address given by one of the companies on the AGFOR website, in Manaus, there is a butcher shop. Nobody at the butcher shop knows about the business. After contact made by the reporter, the address was removed from the website.

“The Pusuru association contacted AGFOR to carry out a carbon credit project,” said lawyer Sernio Vasconcelos Júnior, who claims to be advocating for the association.

“The free consultation was held at an extraordinary general assembly last year in the Carapanatuba village, with 88 chiefs, as provided for by ILO convention number 169 [Organização Internacional do Trabalho]”, stated Vasconcelos.

Greene, in an email response, said he did not have a contract with Pusuru. “We tried in the past and it was very complicated. There is a lot of opposition because there are two associations. When we realized how complicated it was, we determined that providing some guidance on the requirements required by carbon credit projects was the best way to help them,” he said. .

In a statement, Funai said that the commercialization of carbon credits on the voluntary market still depends on regulation, “especially with regard to indigenous lands”.

In July, the Public Defender’s Office of Pará filed four public civil actions challenging carbon credit projects in agroextractive settlements in Portel (PA), in the Marajó archipelago. According to the Public Defender’s Office, there was a seizure of public lands and the use of invalid property documents, canceled by the registry office. Brazil AGFOR is one of those cited in the lawsuits.

In the case of the Mundurucu Indigenous Land, whose closest city is Jacareacanga (PA), AGFOR and Pusuru partnered to try to implement a carbon credit project.

Carbon credits are generated from activities that prevent deforestation and forest degradation. The instrument that allows this is REDD+, developed within the scope of the UN Convention on Climate Change.

One carbon credit is equivalent to one ton of CO_two which is no longer emitted into the atmosphere due to the deforestation that was avoided. Companies operate in the voluntary market, in which carbon credits are generated and sold to other companies that need to offset their own greenhouse gas emissions.

A Sheet was in Mundurucu land in September, for the second chapter of the series “Siege of Villages”. The report, published on the 7th, showed that illegal mining is still in full swing, with a flow of miners across the Kabitutu River and through villages along the river’s course. The activity engulfs indigenous people’s farms and increases cases of malaria and diarrhea.

Munduruku children have “severe mental retardation”, “delayed psychomotor development” and “pervasive developmental disorders”, as stated in medical records. The cases may be related to mothers’ poisoning by mercury used in mining, according to professionals who monitor this reality among indigenous people. There is not enough testing or assistance in the villages.

Amid the continuity of mining, indigenous people who explore the activity — and who pressure and threaten other indigenous people, according to the MPF’s complaint to the Court — began trying to implement a carbon credit project. There was no consultation in villages that prohibit mining, according to leaders interviewed by the report.

At the forefront of the project is an indigenous man from the Pusuru association who was denounced by the MPF as a member of a criminal group for illegal gold exploration in the territory. In total, 13 people were reported, 5 of which are indigenous – of which 2 remain in Pusuru. The Federal Court accepted the complaint, and those investigated became defendants.

The association’s lawyer stated that there were no interrogations or details of the accusations made against the indigenous person. Regarding the carbon credit project, what AGFOR did was just provide consultancy, according to Vasconcelos.

“Currently, we do not have a contract with AGFOR. To date, there is no irregularity or illegality,” said the lawyer. “The Munduruku people suffered a lot from illegal mining that almost made the Tapajós River uninhabitable, and today the project presents itself as the best alternative for emancipating the Mundurukus and preserving indigenous lands.”

The remuneration values ​​for AGFOR have not yet been established, according to Vasconcelos, given “allegations of illegalities and lack of consultations”. “When it becomes reality, the value to pay for the company’s consultancy will be established.”

The owner of AGFOR stated that he only developed projects in settlements in Portel. The mundurukus, according to Greene, were given guidance on market rules and information on the need for prior and free consultation, as determined by the ILO convention, of which Brazil is a signatory.

Regarding the address stated on the website as the company’s in Manaus, Greene stated that AGFOR is not headquartered in the capital of Amazonas and that he has no idea of ​​the address provided. “We talked to the web designer to fix this.”

The accusations regarding the project in Portel are a “persecution”, according to the businessman. “I’m being persecuted for trying to help your people.”

The Mundurucu Indigenous Land is the second most impacted by illegal mining in the country, in terms of devastated area. The first is the Kayapó Indigenous Land, also in Pará, where villages were surrounded by craters and where tolls are charged for excavators. The flow of miners remains active, as Folha showed in the first chapter of the series “Siege of Villages”, in June.

The kayapó mebengôkres were also promised resources through the generation and sale of carbon credits. The company responsible, Carbonext, however, withdrew from the project. The company said that the negotiations took place with transparency and respect.