- Indigenous leaders gathered at New York Climate Week to call on global leaders to address the unprecedented drought and wildfire crisis in the Amazon Rainforest.
- Chief Raoni Metuktire, a historic Indigenous leader of Brazil, asked non-Indigenous communities to reflect on their responsibility — mainly the introduction of illegal mining, logging and cattle ranching that are accelerating the impacts of climate change.
- Many Indigenous communities are in the path of wildfires, and isolated Indigenous peoples (PIA) are the most vulnerable.
Indigenous leaders from South America issued a cry for help at New York Climate Week on Sept. 25. Representatives from Brazil, Ecuador and Peru gathered at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, where they urgently called on the international community to act on the unprecedented drought and fire crisis impacting the Amazon Rainforest.
Chief Raoni Metuktire, one of the most renowned Indigenous leaders in Brazil and the world, called on non-Indigenous communities to take responsibility for their share of the problem. “White people are contributing to the destruction of the forest,” said the chief, who is now 92 years old. “I’m very concerned with their way of life leading to the destruction of living beings and our planet.”
Raoni was especially critical of non-Indigenous communities’ introduction of extractive industries now prevalent in the Amazon. Illegal mining, logging and cattle ranching are degrading the rainforest, impacting water sources and drying the land. These activities are exacerbating the impacts of climate change, to which Indigenous people already contribute very little.
“We need white men on our side to save the Amazon from destruction,” said the chief, who was born in the Kayapó territory. The land, located in São Félix do Xingu, in the southern Amazon, has recently lost 4,000 hectares (9,884 acres) due to a wildfire that is still burning. It’s the most burnt Indigenous territory in Brazil this year — almost 20% has been blazed. “We need to mobilize the nations of every country to make a large movement to stop this destruction,” he pleaded.
Toya Manchineri, another Indigenous leader at the event, said he believes the solution also lies in demarcating Indigenous territories. “We need global leaders gathered here in New York to make this a priority,” he said, referring to the United Nations General Assembly that is also happening this week in the city. “The designation of Indigenous land should be considered part of every country’s climate policies.”
Manchineri, born in the Mamoadate Indigenous Territory in Brazil, is the general coordinator of COIAB, a network of Indigenous organizations of the Brazilian Amazon. The entity has long argued that designating Indigenous territories is crucial for the Amazon’s climate resilience. Science has shown that these communities not only maintain the forest intact but can also reverse the deforestation that has already taken place.
Fire threatens isolated communities
The Amazon is experiencing its worst drought recorded in 151 years. According to COIAB’s recent report, “The Amazon on the Brink of Collapse,” 149 Indigenous territories are under severe or extreme drought conditions. Of these, 42 are facing extreme drought, which implies limited access to food and drinking water. In the Munduruku territory, communities are drinking mercury-polluted water due to low river levels.
A drier and more flammable forest is also triggering a record number of wildfires. The report estimates an 80% increase in wildfires in the region in 2024. In August alone, fires destroyed 2.5 million hectares (6.2 million acres), equivalent to 3.5 million soccer fields. More than 4,000 wildfires remain active, about one-third on Indigenous territories.
According to COIAB, the situation is dangerous for all Indigenous communities in the Amazon, but isolated Indigenous peoples (PIA) are the most vulnerable. Several are in the path of wildfires, and at least six communities are already suffering from critical water shortages and agricultural losses.
The entity is concerned with their well-being and the possibility these isolated groups might be forced into contact with outsiders. As combat forces work to tame the flames, they might encounter them inadvertently without the necessary training to deal with these communities.
“The fires are quickly advancing toward the territories of isolated Indigenous people,” said Angela Kaxuyana, an Indigenous leader of the Kahyana people of Brazil who also spoke at the event. “The world needs to stop everything immediately and ask their political leaders to help us. This could be our last chance to save them,” she said.
The International Working Group of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact estimates there are 185 isolated Indigenous peoples in South America. Meanwhile, the Brazilian federal government has recorded 114 within Brazil’s Legal Amazon. They are already threatened by loss of territory, diseases and violence. Climate change is now considered an emerging risk.
“Everyone here is concerned with making big carbon market deals,” Kaxuyana said of New York Climate Week. “But Indigenous people are literally burning. We are not talking just about the loss of forests, animals and species. We are talking about the potential loss of life.”
Banner image: Indigenous leaders from South America, such as Chief Raoni Metuktire (at the center), spoke during the New York Climate Week to denounce the suffering of Amazon communities during extreme drought and fire outbreaks. Image courtesy of Carlos Ernesto Cano/Festivales Solidarios.
Editor’s note (9/28/24): This piece was originally titled “We need white men to save the Amazon” but based on review of the remark by Chief Raoni Metuktire we changed the title to reflect what was actually said.
Drought forces Amazon Indigenous communities to drink mercury-tainted water
Citation:
Baragwanath, K., & Bayi, E. (2020). Collective property rights reduce deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(34), 20495-20502. doi:10.1073/pnas.1917874117
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