Brazil’s Lula looks to protect more Indigenous land
Lula has officially recognized nearly 1,200 square kilometers of Indigenous lands, most of which are in the Amazon.
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The backstory: According to data from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE), development in the world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon, has reached a high over the last couple of years. While the rainforest spreads across nine countries, over half of it sits in Brazil.
Under the previous Brazilian President Bolsonaro’s administration, deforestation in the rainforest reached an all-time high, with a report from two years ago saying that the Amazon rainforest now releases more carbon emissions than it can actually absorb. In fact, according to Nature, under Bolsonaro’s presidency, deforestation increased by 129%.
The development: However, since January of this year, the country has gotten a new leader, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. And part of his campaign promise was to protect more rainforest land. Research has shown that Indigenous-controlled forests are the best-preserved in the Brazilian Amazon. So now, Lula has officially recognized nearly 1,200 square kilometers of Indigenous lands, most of which are in the Amazon.
What this means is, while the land still belongs to the government, the Indigenous community of the country can use it in their traditional ways. Non-Indigenous people will not be able to have any economic activity in the area, and the land is also protected from mining. On top of this, special authorizations are required for farming and logging on the land.
Key comments:
"Indigenous areas are crucial to preserving the Amazon, the world’s central bank for biological diversity ... Indigenous people are the ones best able to guard this wealth," said Toerris Jaeger, head of the environmental NGO Rainforest Foundation Norway.
“We are going to legalize Indigenous lands. It is a process that takes a little while because it has to go through many hands. I don’t want any Indigenous territory to be left without demarcation during my government. That is the commitment I made to you,” said Lula to a crowd in Brazil.
“Today we demarcated six indigenous territories, an important step. Do not stop organizing and demanding. The government exists to serve the interests of the people,” said Lula on social media, according to Telesur.
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