Works could impact 66% of the country’s indigenous lands – 04/04/2023 – Environment

A study carried out by the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) shows that 397 indigenous lands could be impacted by future works by the federal government, such as the construction of highways, railways and hydroelectric plants.

This number represents 66%, or two thirds, of the 599 territories with some type of geographic delimitation in the ISA database — there are just over one hundred ILs in the country without a defined area and, therefore, they were not considered.

According to the study, signed by researcher Antonio Oviedo, on average land is threatened by four works simultaneously and 67% of them can be impacted by more than one project.

Oviedo also points out the need for special attention to cases that affect territories with the presence of isolated indigenous peoples.

According to the survey, 92 isolated peoples could be impacted by these works, also considering groups that have not yet been confirmed by Funai (National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples), but there are indications that they inhabit the place.

“Hydroelectric plants and roads are the ventures that generate the most impact or have the greatest reach in terms of impacted area”, says Oviedo.

For data crossing, he used the so-called area of ​​direct influence of an undertaking, the same criterion used in environmental licensing studies to calculate the potential impact of a work. Therefore, indigenous lands overlapping areas of influence were considered threatened.

“The plants affect an entire water regime, the flow of rivers, and this has a huge impact on the food security of the communities. They also bring a lot of workers and open up fronts for regional development that usually end up bringing together illegal activities of exploitation of resources natural resources and increasing the rate of deforestation”, says the researcher.

Constructions	Amount	ITs impacted	IT impacted by work
Small hydroelectric plants	419	143	0.34
hydroelectric plants	85	87	1.02
highways	72	258	3.58
ports	44	56	1.27
Railways	12	76	6.33
Transmission lines	9	33	3.67
ducts	7	10	1.43

He cites as an example the Belo Monte plant, in Pará, which faced strong resistance from environmentalists and social movements and which, once built, generated several impacts in the region.

As for the roads, he recalls the case of the BR-163, which runs from Rio Grande do Sul to Pará and, shortly after its announcement and even before it was built, resulted in the acceleration of land grabbing in the surroundings of its route. .

Also, highways that cut through forests are difficult to inspect and facilitate access to preservation areas, the exploitation of their resources and the practice of environmental crimes. This effect is called fishbone effect by environmentalists, as several small paths are opened into the forest, starting from the road.

“The hydroelectric plant in the state of Roraima, which has been under debate for some time, the transmission line to connect Roraima to the national supply system and which crosses Terra Waimiri Atroari, and the BR-319, which has an area of ​​influence with several territories, are the most dangerous works”, he says, emphasizing the latter as the main one.

Licensing the BR-319, in particular the so-called middle section —which cuts through the heart of the Amazon rainforest, in Pará—, was debated for years and advanced during the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

The release for the works, however, is questioned by environmentalists. In addition, the same studies that released its execution point to the risk of increased land grabbing. And the indigenous peoples who live in the region complain that they were not consulted on the subject, as required by law.

The highway has already been defended by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in previous years. Recently, in a hearing in the Senate, the Minister of Transport, Renan Filho, also gave statements in its favor, considering the potential environmental impact.

The president of Ibama (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources), Rodrigo Agostinho, has already stated, however, that the undertaking lacks studies.

It was also during the Bolsonaro government that deforestation in Brazil grew rapidly, with the advance of illegal mining and also of loggers.

The ISA survey considered enterprises registered with Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency), Dnit (National Department of Transport Infrastructure), EPL (Planning and Logistics Company), Antaq (National Waterway Transport Agency) and EPE (Energy research company).

Those with the planned status were used. In total, there are 648 works with the potential to impact indigenous lands.

Oviedo also says that there is no information in these databases about the bureaucratic progress of the projects, that is, there is no way of knowing, for example, which of these works are priorities of the Lula government and which ones should not get off the ground in what depend on current management.

“It is necessary to follow the government’s agenda. As priorities are announced, we will be able to deepen the analysis for more specific works”, he says.