GREENPEACE AND DENI INDIANS DEMAND REMOVAL OF LOGGING FROM INDIGENOUS LANDS

19 April 2000

CIDADEZINHA, AMAZONAS, BRAZIL -- Greenpeace today announced a joint project to assist the Deni Indian communities of the Brazilian Amazon on self-demarcation of their traditional lands. The Deni land has been under threat from the Malaysian company, WTK, since 1995 when the multi-national logging giant first started negotiations which ended in their purchase of over 313,000 hectares of forest from a Brazilian businessman. Approximately half of the WTK land overlaps Deni Indian territories. (1)

Land demarcation is the legal instrument by which the Brazilian government recognises indigenous rights to their traditional territories. The Deni land stretches over 1,600,000 hectares of Amazon rainforest (2).

The meeting to announce the demarcation effort was attended by 12 Patarahus (Chiefs) from the four Deni villages of the Cuniua River. Also attending was Brazilian government official Artur Ribeiro Mendes, Co-ordinator of PPTAL (Program for Indigenous Lands Demarcation of the Legal Amazon) and representative of FUNAI (The National Foundation of the Indian).

The Greenpeace activists and members of the Deni communities also joined together in a symbolic demonstration on the banks of the remote Cuniua River, some 1,000 kilometres from the Amazonas State capitol of Manaus, and called for WTK to leave the Deni lands.

"Demarcation of their territory is crucial to guarantee the physical and cultural survival of the remaining 800 members of the Deni," said Greenpeace Amazon campaigner Paulo Adario. "The opening of a new logging centre in an untouched forest area in the heart of the Amazon is in itself unacceptable, and could also encourage expansion of the illegal logging frontier deeper into the region." (3)

"We are demanding that demarcation starts immediately, under the direct and consistent supervision of the Deni," added Adario.

Greenpeace has joined together in partnership with two indigenous peoples' organisations, CIMI and OPAN, to meet the Deni's request for assistance with the demarcation (4). The groups first visited the Deni communities in May 1999. "The Deni want their land demarcated because they know this to be the first step in keeping their traditional way of life," said CIMI representative Miguel Aparicio.

The partnership's main objectives are to map the social, economic and health status of the Deni and to train them in the handling of technical equipment necessary to the demarcation process. "The project is planned to last about six months and will include training in the use of GPS's (satellite location devices), so they can themselves define the boundaries of their territory", said Nilo D'Avila, Greenpeace's co-ordinator for the project.

This joint announcement with the Deni people is the most recent activity of the MV Amazon Guardian tour that started in Manaus on March 23. The Amazon Guardian will travel throughout the Brazilian Amazon until July, highlighting the problems of illegal logging and promoting sustainable alternatives for the region.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

- Gina Sanchez, Forest Campaign Media Co-ordinator in Amsterdam, +31 20 5249 547
- Rebeca Lerer, Amazon Press Officer in Amazon, +874 323 200371 (Imarsat)

Video and stills available from GPI: +31 20 5249 547

(1) The Deni live in the western part of Amazonas State in Brazil, on the Cuniua river (a tributary of the Purus River) and the Xerua River (a tributary of the Jurua River). The communities are approximately 1,000 air kilometres from Manaus, the State capitol, and are accessible only by boat or float plane.

(2) The rights of indigenous people are protected under the constitution of Brazil. The Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988 states that the indigenous right over the land is an original right, i.e. that rights to their traditional lands belong to the Indians. The demarcation process formally recognises the territorial domains of each indigenous nation. Demarcation is a lengthy legal and physical process that includes mechanical and social surveys to confirm the range of traditional lands and, when complete, prohibits all forms of industrial development.

(3) The Brazilian government itself admits that 80% of the Amazon logging is illegal. One of the current industrial practices in the region is to use government-approved forest management plans to "launder" illegally harvested timber. If a commercial logging enterprise were to start working in this remote area, it would be almost impossible, under the current inspection regime, to determine if logs coming from the region were cut legally or illegally.

(4) CIMI (Missionary Indigenous Council) is a non-profit organisation that has been promoting the autonomy of the indigenous people of the Purus River basin for over 25 years. OPAN (Native Amazon Operation) was founded 31 years ago and has extensive experience with self-demarcation processes as a result of their work with the indigenous Kulina nation.