July 25, 2021

11:07

Marcela Leiros – from Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – “The forest is running out through this land grabbing and the invasion of loggers”. The account of teacher Maria*, a resident of the municipality of Manicoré, in the south of Amazonas, is succinct when explaining the “butterfly” effect of illegal deforestation, which goes beyond the borders of the economy and directly affects the quality of life of traditional communities. In the Amazonian municipality that borders Apuí, Novo Aripuanã, and Humaitá, the most deforested in the state, illegal exploitation of natural resources is transforming the reality of the Manicoré inhabitants.

On the border with the state of Rondônia, Manicoré has about 56 thousand inhabitants, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Most live in 102 rural communities that depend on agriculture, extractivism, and fishing. According to Maria, the residents of the municipality suffer, in particular, with the environmental and economic impacts caused by the farming and logging activities of the village of Santo Antônio do Matupi.

“We want the authorities to take action. Who is opening these roads? Who is extracting the wood from Manicoré?”, Maria, teacher, resident of Manicoré.

“First is the illegally harvested wood. They present management plans that are not authorized by the competent organs. In the future, there won’t be any more wood. Another thing is the issue of predatory hunting, many hunters go to the areas of the seven waterfalls. There are hunters who catch 80 pacas to sell”, said Maria.

“Land without men”

In the 1960s and 1970s, highways created in the south of Amazonas as part of the integration policies of the military dictatorship brought colonizers to the area. The supposed “demographic vacuum” of the Amazon region was used as an argument for the occupation of the land.

Matupi was born from a settlement project of the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA). With time, the locality, at kilometer 180 of the BR 230 (Transamazon Highway), became established and is today pointed out by the residents of the municipality as the main responsible for the growing wave of logging and hunting in the region. The district’s main economic activities are the production of dairy products, beef cattle, managed wood extraction, and commerce.

Maria also told more details about the exploitation of resources, such as fishing. The destruction of large quantities of fish is common practice in the region and the riverside residents, who depend on the resource to survive, feel the loss. “When there are plenty of fish, the fishermen catch the fish, take the big ones, and the smaller ones they waste. They throw them in the water in front of the city of Manicoré. Then, when you need this fish to feed the population and to sell, you won’t have any”, recalled the Manicoré resident.

Roads

In a straight line, the distance between the municipality of Manicoré and Matupi is 268.56 kilometers, but in this space there are indigenous lands and extractive reserves, which would make it impossible, legally speaking, to open roads between the municipal seat and the district. However, the residents report the invasion of protected areas for the opening of roads. “These days we see many roads opening in Manicoré River, without government licensing, without environmental licensing”, Maria pointed out.

Threats

Given the scenario in which the communities of Manicoré see the natural wealth disappearing, a movement for the creation of a Conservation Unit (UC) in Manicoré has been created. The suspicion is that there is an articulation between land grabbers and farm owners with the government. Maria, who is part of the mobilization, has already received death threats, but said that she will continue to claim her rights in favor of environmental conservation. She also demanded the competent authorities.

“We want the authorities to take action. Who is opening these roads? Who is extracting the wood from Manicoré? During the week, two or three rafts leave Manicoré River and there is no inspection. The people are missing these raw materials,” she further requested.

*Fictitious name created to protect the character’s identity for security reasons.