Deforestation of Brazil’s indigenous lands on the rise

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian Socio-environmental Institute (ISA) on Wednesday alerted that in three years of President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration, a 138% increase in deforestation on indigenous lands has been registered.

The organization reported a 79% increase in the deforestation of protected areas in the Amazon, and urged authorities to implement environmental preservation policies.

An article published by ISA stated that a year before being elected, Bolsonaro warned during a visit to the state of Mato Grosso, that Indigenous Lands would not have “one square centimeter demarcated” during his government.

“In the past three years, far beyond fulfilling his ominous pledge, the President launched a veritable offensive against the rights of indigenous peoples, advancing on what is most valuable for their existence: land,” ISA stressed.

The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) Prodes system reported that deforestation in the Trincheira-Bacajá Indigenous Land, located in the Brazilian state of Pará, increased by 51% compared to 2020, representing over 3,500 hectares cleared last year, despite the fact that the agency only records cleared land, i.e. the total deforestation of native vegetation.

“The processes of invasion and forest destruction, the result of timber theft, illegal mining and fires are not covered by Prodes,” confirmed ISA’s Protected Areas Program coordinator Antonio Oviedo.

Oviedo added that in addition to the 32,864 hectares of deforestation registered by the Prodes system in 2021, another 22,707 hectares were deforested in Indigenous Lands. In contrast to the deforestation recorded by Prodes, forest degradation increased 55% in Indigenous Lands in 2021.

The Institute alerted to land grabbing, “where invaders gain space on indigenous lands in lots illegally sold, auctioned or even donated by criminal networks.”

Similarly, INPE’s research reported that deforestation in isolated Indigenous Lands grew exponentially, where degradation increased by 245% in the current government, between 2020 and 2021.

The most affected Indigenous Lands are Piripkura and Ituna-Itatá, located in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Pará, respectively, noted ISA’s report.

The Deforestation Alert System (SAD) of the Amazon Institute for Man and the Environment (IMAZOM), reported that from January through November 2021, the Amazon lost 10,222 km² of forest, an area equivalent to 7 times the size of the city of São Paulo.

The agency also indicated that this is the highest accumulated in the past 10 years for the period, 31% higher than last year, also during Jair Bolsonaro’s presidential term.