2023-09-06 15:18:36
Creation of the Flona do Parima (RR) | ICMBio
To celebrate Amazon Day, this Tuesday (5), the federal government launched a package of environmental actions, including the regularization of five protected areas and the expansion of two others, totaling more than 454.4 thousand hectares under federal protection. in the region, an extension equivalent to three times the city of São Paulo (Find out more in the table below).
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed the homologation decrees (the last stage of the demarcation process) of the Indigenous Land (TI) Rio Gregórioof 187 thousand hectares, from the peoples Katukina e Yawanawáin the municipality of Tarauacá (AC), and TI Acapuri de Cimawith 19 thousand hectares, owned by the people Kokama, in Fonte Boa (AM). The two ILs cover a population of about a thousand people (Read more in the box at the end of the report).
Almost 20,000 hectares were also earmarked for the regularization of the Valparaíso (AM) TI and another 2,500 hectares for the Kanela do Araguaia (MT) TI. One hectare measures, more or less, a football field.
Despite this, Lula continues to not fully fulfill his promise to approve 14 TIs ready for this, listed during the government transition. He is still further away from fulfilling his other promise, made in April, when he ratified six territories, to put an end to pending demarcation procedures by the end of his mandate (learn more below).
There was the expectation that other areas would be made official, in August, at the Amazon Summit, in Belém, but that ended up not happening. Sources from the government itself point out that the Civil House would be vocalizing political pressure against the demarcation processes and hindering their progress. The Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, told the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo what the remaining six territories must be homologated by the end of the year.
At the ceremony at Palácio do Planalto, this Tuesday, as he had done in April, Lula acknowledged that it is necessary to speed up the processing of processes and promised again that he will do so. “You know the government has to do more and you know we’re going to do more,” she said.
Decrees were also signed for the creation of the Parima National Forest, with 109,400 hectares, and for the expansion of the Maracá Ecological Station, by 50,700 hectares, which now reaches 154,200 hectares, both in Roraima. Together with the Roraima National Forest, these two areas now form a shield that can protect against invasions the eastern border of the Yanomami TI, which is still facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis (see maps above and below).
The president also announced the expansion of the Viruá National Park, also in Roraima, by 66,000 hectares – the Conservation Unit (UC) now totals more than 281,000 hectares. The protection of the new areas in Roraima is part of an agreement reached in 2009 for the transfer of federal lands to the state administration.
Amazon Day environmental package
‒ Homologation of the TI Rio Gregório (AC), with 187 thousand hectares, and the TI Acapuri de Cima (AM), with 19 thousand hectares
‒ Allocation of 19.9 thousand hectares for the regularization of the Valparaíso TI (AM) and 2.4 thousand hectares for the Kanela do Araguaia TI (MT)
‒ Creation of the Parima National Forest (RR), with 109.4 thousand hectares
‒ Expansion of the Viruá National Park (RR) by 66 thousand hectares
‒ Expansion of the Maracá Ecological Station (RR) by 50.7 thousand hectares
‒ Union with Municipalities Program, with a promise of R$600 million, by 2025, for city halls that reduce deforestation
‒ Florestal Viva Program, with a promise of R$500 million non-refundable from BNDES and the private initiative for forest restoration, within three years
‒ 1st notice of the Floresta Viva program, with R$26.7 million in non-reimbursable resources to support up to nine forest restoration projects and strengthening associated production chains in the Xingu Basin
‒ Resumption of operation of the Technical Chamber for Destination and Land Regularization of Federal Rural Public Lands, under the coordination of the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Farming (MDA)
‒ Transfer of land from six federal UCs in Roraima, totaling 3.6 million hectares, from the Secretariat of Union Heritage (SPU) to ICMBio (one of the last stages of land regularization of UCs)
‒ Delivery of 534 titles to family farmers in São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM)
‒ Funai’s declaration of interest in 3.81 million hectares for recognition of ITs in the Amazon
‒ MMA declaration of interest in 3.75 million hectares for future creation of UCs and forestry concessions
“We have a large debt of demarcation of indigenous lands and titling of quilombos in the drawers of the public power, but today’s announcement is to celebrate”, says the advisor of the ISA, Adriana Ramos.
“By celebrating Amazon Day with a set of measures that include officializing protected areas and land regularization actions, the government gives more concreteness to what President Lula has been highlighting as his government’s commitment”, he concludes.
Adding up other ITs and UCs made official so far, Lula’s third administration reaches the mark of more than 1 million protected hectares or the equivalent of almost twice the size of the Federal District.
Promise of BRL 1.1 billion to combat deforestation
Another announcement made in the Planalto was that of a new program that intends to encourage municipalities in the Amazon to reduce their rates of deforestation and forest degradation. The government promises to release R$ 600 million from the Amazon Fund, from the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), by 2025, for mayors who make the most effort in the task.
“The municipalities that reduce deforestation the most will have access to a greater volume of resources to invest in land regularization and environmental regularization actions, agroforestry restoration, sustainable productive activities”, explained the Secretary for Control of Deforestation and Environmental Planning of the Ministry of the Environment Environment (MMA), André Lima, in an interview with ISAat the end of the ceremony at Planalto.
According to Lima, the idea is to commit, in addition to city halls, deputies, senators and councilors to the program, including parliamentary amendments aimed at combating deforestation. He also informs that the ministry intends to accelerate the reduction of forest destruction rates in these municipalities, until the Conference on Climate Change (COP-30) is held in Belém, in 2025, as a showcase for raising more international resources for that end.
President Lula officializes protected areas at the Planalto Palace alongside ministers: Marina Silva, from the Environment (L), Sonia Guajajara, from the Indigenous Peoples (R), among others | Ricardo Stuckert / PR
Still at the ceremony in Planalto, the socio-environmental director of the BNDES, Tereza Campello, informed that the bank is launching a R$ 26 million public notice for the reforestation of 1.5 thousand hectares in ILs, UCs and areas of family agriculture in the Rio Basin Xingu. The measure is part of the Floresta Viva program, which aims to raise and offer BRL 500 million in non-refundable resources, in up to three years, for forest restoration activities and the strengthening of associated production chains. According to Campelo, half of the amount will be offered by the bank and the other half by the private sector.
As he did with regard to demarcations, Lula also promised to expand actions to combat deforestation. “We are going to prove that those who think they have to cut down trees to earn money are much more ignorant than they are smart. Because he can earn a lot more money with the forest standing”, she said.
The president again said that he intends to form a group composed of the Amazonian countries, plus Indonesia and Congo, with a unique position in international negotiations on climate change, to pressure developed nations to fulfill the promise of offering US$ 100 billion a year to conserve tropical forests.
As he has been doing recently, the president, however, nodded to the governors of the Amazon, almost all more or less aligned with Bolsonaristas and ruralistas, and again highlighted the need to promote the region’s economic development. “The people of the Amazon are in a hurry to conquer opportunities, to have support to undertake and produce. The people of the Amazon are in a hurry to live in a dynamic economy to find more and better jobs,” he pointed out.
Expansion of Esec Maracá (RR) | ICMBioChallenges for demarcations
Considering processes already opened at the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai), the country currently has 740 TIs. With this Tuesday’s approvals, there are now 500 TIs with their demarcation process completed. However, there are still 66 declared TIs that are still waiting for the approval decree to be signed.
Furthermore, there are still 46 TIs with their identification reports already published by Funai and 128 still in the study process to produce the identification report for their areas. In total, there are still 240 Indigenous Lands with an unfinished process and, for them, the future is still uncertain (understand the demarcation process).
Among the 66 declared lands, the average waiting time until the process is completed, with approval by the President of the Republic, is 12 years. In some cases, such as the Acapuri de Cima TI, approved this Tuesday, the delay reached more than two decades: the Ministry of Justice recognized the studies for its delimitation and declared the area in 2000.
“Today, 66 areas have already gone through all these stages of the long demarcation process, with investment of time and public resources, and are awaiting a confirmation act from the president, with signs of progress that are still very timid. There is nothing else to be done in these processes. They are already ready. The only explanation for the delay in finalizing them is the pressure from sectors that work to change the demarcation process”, argues Moreno Saraiva Martins, coordinator of the Indigenous Peoples in Brazil (PIB) program at the ISA.
Lula will need to speed up the demarcation processes and go beyond what was done in all his terms in office to fulfill the promise made in April. To give you an idea, in his last government (2007-20100, he approved 21 areas, totaling 7.7 million hectares, on an average of just over five approvals per year. In the first administration (2003-2006), for On the other hand, 66 lands were approved, totaling 11 million hectares and an average of 16.5 approvals per year.
To fulfill the promise and put an end to the pending issues of 240 TIs that have already started their processes, the president would need to approve 60 areas per year, or five per month, in his four years in office. Currently, the average is below one approval per month.
Discover the two homologated Indigenous Lands
Gregorio River (AC)
The TI Rio Gregório is part of the traditional territory of the Yawanawá, a Pano-speaking people who live in the municipality of Tarauacá (AC). This is the only area destined for this people, and part of its extension was delimited in 1984, the first demarcation made in Acre. The approval carried out in 1991 left out significant parts of the original territory. For this reason, a new area was delimited in 2006 and declared in 2007. Almost a quarter of the TI’s area overlaps with the Rio Liberdade State Forest, a UC of sustainable use. There is also a small overlap, less than 1%, with the Riozinho da Liberdade Extractive Reserve. Currently, around 600 people live in the TI.
Acapuri de Cima (AM)
Land of the Kokama people, located in the Amazon, has more than 19,000 hectares and has been awaiting approval for over 23 years. Despite the traditional occupation recorded for at least 116 years, its official recognition process only started in 1997, with its limits identified in 1999, with the approval of the delimitation report by Funai. The Technical Group that carried out the land and registry survey only found two properties overlapping the TI in 1998: a piece of land from the Ministry of Education, acquired for the construction of a school, and a second property owned by a former patriarch of one of the families kokama residing in the area. Its population today is approximately 500 people. TI was declared by the Minister of Justice in 2000.
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