Amazon Updates
Greenpeace is in the Middle Lands right now with the Brazilian
federal environmental agency, IBAMA, and military police uncovering
the illegal mahogany trade. We have worked for several years in
the Amazon collecting data and investigating the illegal mahogany
logging, and now we are offering IBAMA our intelligence and logistical
support to uncover and seize illegal mahogany logs. Here is the
latest update from the jungle.
26 october 2001
Humaita, Middle Lands, Xingu river
The light was beautiful in the morning. We left Tucuma early
with Daniel, our photographer, and Todd, our videoproducer. Our
first destination was the Kayapo indigenous lands.
On September 26th, Greenpeace delivered research to the Brazilian
government alerting them about the illegal logging of mahogany
inside the Kayapo reserve. The research contained video footage
of a logging yard and harbor on the Xingu River, along with the
geographic coordinates.
Today, a month later, the logging yard is still there with piles
of mahogany logs that were cut inside the reserve. A little way
down the river, hidden behind a rocky island, hundreds and hundreds
of mahogany logs are being prepared to form log rafts and will
then be transported down the river to the sawmills in Sao Felix
do Xingu.
Why is this happening if Ibama has almost 40 agents operating
in Para at this very moment? Ibama says they have no autonomy
to operate inside indigenous territory, they need support from
Funai, the federal agency in charge of indigenous related issues.
Where is Funai? "If nothing is done, this timber will reach
the sawmills and fuel the illegal mahogany market," says
Paulo, our Amazon campaign coordinator. "The illegal logging
inside Kayapo lands is an old issue. Everybody knows what's going
on around here, it's an assault on the forest. Funai must show
political power and work with the Kayapo to stop this predatory
activity."
We flew for another hour until we reached Humaita along the right
bank of the Xingu. Here 1,600 mahogany logs, plus trucks and tractors,
were apprehended by Ibama. They have set up a camp and 16 Ibama
agents walk from one side to the other deciding what are their
next steps.
After lunch, the two Ibama helicopters left carrying agents and
the Greenpeace documentation crew. They went to an airstrip called
Carajai that was being used by loggers in the very heart of the
middle lands. The police were sent earlier to clear the area.
I'm waiting for their return to hear the news and see what we
are going to do next.
I just had a dive on the clear waters of the Xingu river. It's
an amazing place. The Xingu is a large river, stretching through
half of Para state. At its mouth, the river is many kilometers
wide and has shallow waters, but as you go up river it gets narrower
and deeper. Some big fish, a tucunare I believe, swam around me
and for a moment I forgot the reason that brought me here. For
a moment I was able to relax and enjoyed the beauty of the forest.
Now it's time to go back to work. Thanks to satellite communication
technology, we are able to send this news you are reading by email
and also give interviews by satellite phone. Making public what
is going on here is a very important part of the Greenpeace mission
in the Amazon. To remind the Brazilian and international audiences
of the role they play in the destruction of the Amazon is a fundamental
step to change the reality on the ground.
Hopefully I'll be able to write again soon. I know I'll never
forget what I see. I see a forest being destroyed without control.
I see a part of Brazil where the government is not present and
a few people set the rules. I see people that have no other chance
of surviving despite forest destruction. Time is running out for
the amazon forest of Para state, for some of the regions, it's
already too late. There is a chance to save the beautiful forests
of the Middle Lands, but action needs to be taken NOW!
Rebeca
from the Middle Lands
Related stories
24 October: Brazilian
mahogany mafia exposed and the government suspends all mahogany
logging and transport and the Greenpeace
team arrives in Tucuma to join the federal investigation of
the illegal mahogany trade.
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