As well as being home to the richest biodiversity, and sequestering more carbon dioxide than any other land region, it is also a vital part of the planet’s cooling system. That it is more central to planetary life-support systems than most people realise. The message is simple: if humanity is serious about dealing with the climate crisis and the collapse of natural life-support systems, the priority should be protection of the world’s biggest rainforest and its guardians in indigenous, riverine and quilombola communities.Ī key objective of the gathering – which is seen as a Forest COP – is to show that much of what the outside world believes about the Amazon is wrong. The event’s name – Amazon: Centro do Mundo – is a mission statement as much as a slogan on the participants’ T-shirts.
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Photograph: Lilo Clareto/ISA/The Guardian The new generation wants to save the life of the forest and the planet.”įorest Cop participants prepare to plants a rich mix of plants in Terra do Meio in the heart of the Amazon. All the world is talking about the Amazon. They see the fire and the deforestation and they know that you can’t keep killing trees,” he said. The young from the cities are listening to the cry of the Amazon. “It’s a new way of thinking and it’s very strong. The indigenous shaman and figurehead Davi Kopenawa Yanomami sees hope in the youth climate movement that has spread across the world in the past year. There are other traditional forest dwellers looking for new allies, as they face the most hostile government since the military dictatorship that ended in 1985. Anthropologists say they are now among the most endangered tribes in Brazil. This leaves them powerless to stop further intrusions. To get here, the participants travelled through the indigenous territory of Cachoeira Seca, which has been invaded by so many land-grabbers and illegal miners that the small population of Arara Indians are outnumbered 10 to one in their own land. Most of Terra do Meio (a mosaic of conservation areas, indigenous territory and reserves) is inside Altamira – the huge municipality that has suffered the most fires, the worst deforestation and the highest murder rate in the Amazon.
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Extinction Rebellion organisers from the UK and school climate strikers from Belgium have worked alongside Nadya Tolokonnikova from the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot, learning about the forest’s history and role, and sharing ideas on how to defend it.Īlthough it is 12 hours by bus and boat from the nearest city, this stronghold of nature is no longer far from the frontline of devastation.
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Forging new alliances with young activists from Europe, they hope the connections will lead to more international support and greater overseas prominence for their long struggle to defend their land against invasion. The forest’s traditional guardians – indigenous, riverine and quilombola (descendent of rebel slaves) communities – are expecting the worst and starting to fight back. The results will be apparent on Monday, when the government releases the latest annual deforestation figures. Scientists say the forest must be protected if the world is to avoid dangerous levels of global heating, yet the government of the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro has given the green light to farmers, miners and loggers to enter the region and cut down trees. Manmade fires continue to ravage swathes of Brazilian land. The gathering in Manolito, a riverine community of half a dozen wooden buildings in Terra do Meio (Middle Earth), contrasts sharply with what is happening elsewhere in the rainforest.
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It is in this idyllic setting, deep inside the Amazon rainforest, that a nascent alliance of traditional communities, climate activists and academics is re-imagining what the world’s greatest forest was, what it can be and who can best defend it. White and yellow butterflies stumble across the river at remarkable speeds. Kingfishers perch on riverside branches while herons await their prey on midstream rocks with their wings outstretched. At its narrowest and roughest, the water churns around boulders eroded into the shapes of battlements and breaching whales. At its widest and calmest, the vast expanse of water is a flawless mirror of blue sky and green canopy. O n the six-hour boat ride down the Iriri river to Manolito, there is almost no other traffic and only a handful of small homes.