25 Apr 2007 - Porto Velho,
Brazil – Protected areas in the Brazilian
state of Rondonia are increasingly being
encroached upon by developers, farmers,
cattle ranchers, miners, fishermen, hunters,
illegal loggers…and the list goes on.
Even indigenous lands, which are protected
under Brazil’s constitution, are also affected.
WWF-Brazil’s partner organization, Kanindé,
which works with traditional populations,
warns that frequent violations to land tenure
belonging to the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau indigenous
people, particularly illegal forest activities,
are leading to large-scale deforestation.
“The authorities have done very little
to stop this, exposing indigenous populations
to a situation that jeopardizes their existence
and being lenient to the devastation of
huge forest areas,” stresses Ivaneide Bandeira
Cardozo, director of Kanindé.
Pacaás Novos National Park — the
source of eight major rivers and responsible
for most of Rondonia’s water supply — is
located within the protected lands of the
Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau.
The authorities responsible for enforcing
environmental legislation point to the lack
of financial resources as the main reason
for the current situation facing indigenous
lands and protected areas. The regional
section of Ibama, Brazil’s main environmental
agency responsible for the maintenance of
Pacaás Novos, still hasn’t been allocated
a budget from the federal government for
2007, and the Rondonia State Police environmental
unit lacks the troops to carry out field
activities and enforcement duties.
“The role of the government cannot be only
to create protected areas,” said Ana Euler
of WWF-Brazil. “They must also allocate
enough resources for implementation, maintenance
and law enforcement.”
Working together with indigenous populations
and local organizations, WWF is helping
to reinforce the protection of conservation
areas and traditional territories, particularly
through the development of ecological corridors,
or the joining of fragmented habitats.
“The corridors guarantee the protection
of biodiversity and quality of life,” said
Claudio Maretti, WWF-Brazil’s conservation
director.
“The main goal is to achieve conservation
and sustainable management of all ecosystems
identified in the area, while respecting
the rights of the local communities.”
The Itenez-Mamoré ecologic corridor
— running uninterrupted between the state
of Rondonia in Brazil across the border
into Bolivia and home to 20 indigenous lands
and 39 other protected areas — is already
at an advanced state of implementation.
The indigenous land of the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau,
where at least six indigenous groups live,
is located in the heart of the corridor.
* By Bruno Taitson, Communications Officer,
WWF-Brazil.
