Newsletter n. 791: Disregarding decision made by CNPI, Chamber of Representatives will discuss a bill on mining activities in indigenous lands
– Disregarding decision made by CNPI, Chamber of Representatives will discuss a bill on mining activities in indigenous lands
– Organizations request the suspension of planting of eucalyptus in the south region of the state of Bahia because of environmental crimes caused by it
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Disregarding a decision made by CNPI, Chamber of Representatives will discuss bill on mining activities in indigenous lands
On November 6, the Chamber of Representatives established a Committee to analyze bills dealing with the exploitation of mineral resources in indigenous lands. At a meeting of the National Commission for the Indigenous Policy (CNPI), indigenous and indigenist organizations and the Federal Government had agreed that this issue would be discussed as part of the debates on the Statute of Indigenous Peoples, which has been discussed in Congress for 13 years without any practical results so far.
In a note published yesterday (November 7) on the current situation of the struggle for indigenous rights, Cimi considered that establishing the Committee was an example of actions taken by congresspersons who are against indigenous people. “This decision shows that Congress caved in to the pressure of mining companies and disrespected indigenous peoples,” stressed Saulo Feitosa, Cimi’s deputy secretary and a member of CNPI.
The indigenous movement does not agree with discussing this issue separately. The mineral exploitation issue should be discussed taking into account the current situation of indigenous peoples in the areas of health, education, environment, food security, and others. Therefore, they want mining activities to be regulated through the Statute of Indigenous Peoples, which deals with all aspects of indigenous peoples’ life.
Representative Edio Lopes (Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement- state of Roraima) will be the chair of the special committee; Representative Bel Mesquita (Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement- state of Pará) will be the vice-chair; and Representative Eduardo Valverde (Workers’ Party- state of Rondônia) will be the rapporteur. All of them support the government in Congress.
Legislation
The 1988 Federal Constitution allowed national capital companies to carry out mineral exploitation in indigenous lands. For this purpose, a law regulating mining activities must be passed defining who will be allowed to engage in such exploitation, how the activity will be carry out, how indigenous people will be compensated for damages caused by it, and how they will be consulted in order to allow the exploitation or not.
Because it was prohibited, no company is carrying out mining activities in indigenous lands. But clandestine mining sites do exist, as a result of the State’s inability to play its role of inspecting and protecting indigenous lands from invaders.
Some indigenous peoples have already stood up against mining activities in their lands, such as the Yanomami people. In June, Yanomami teachers wrote a letter to the President of the Republic stressing that, with the establishment of mining companies, “there will be deforestation, rivers will be polluted, game will become scarce. Therefore, diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhoea and pneumonia will increase.” The document also points out the fact that “there will be more violence, prostitution and consumption of alcoholic beverages, as has already happened in our land in the past.” In the 1980s, the presence of miners infected with diseases increased the mortality of indigenous people.
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Organizations request the suspension of planting of eucalyptus in the south region of the state of Bahia because of environmental crimes caused by it.
Between November 7 and 8, the Government of the state of Bahia, companies and social movements attended a seminar where the impacts of eucalyptus plantations in the south region and extreme south areas of the state were discussed. After hearing reports on environmental crimes, the social organizations requsted the suspension of the planting of eucalyptus until an economic-environmental zoning of the region is completed.
Held in Porto Seguro, the event was organized by the state government. The seminar is a result of claims made by movements that for many years have been reporting abuses of companies that produce cellulose in the region (the Aracruz, Suzano and Veracel companies).
About 300 people attended it – most of them representatives from unions, rural settlements and camps, indigenous peoples, descendants of runaway slaves, and members of the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), the Landless Movement, Cepedes (Research and Development Center of the Extreme South of the state of Bahia), Cimi and other organizations.
In the beginning of the event, technical experts from the Environment Secretariat presented data confirming that the companies had been committing irregularities. For example, the companies mention environmental reserves in their documents that do not exist in fact. The representative of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, Sérgio Mendes, confirmed the reports and said that the MPF (Federal Prosecutor’s Office) is already taking measures to prevent these environmental crimes.
The eucalyptus plantations were also criticized by the representative of the region’s municipalities. The environment secretary of the municipality of Itapebi stressed that the Veracel company built a factory where there was a village. “The companies arrive there making job promises but never make them good,” he recalled.
Father José Koopmans, who has been researching problems caused by eucalyptus plantation in the region for 20 years, stressed other impacts caused by this monoculture, such as the displacement of traditional communities (indigenous, descendants of runaway slaves, etc.), disappearance of street fairs, drying up of rivers, and diseases caused by pesticides. In an emotional tone, he demanded a position from the government, which should take the claims of indigenous peoples seriously.
In addition to requesting the suspension of eucalyptus planting activities, the 35 social organizations which attended the seminar submitted several claims to the government, such as claims for the demarcation of indigenous lands and of lands of descendants of runaway slaves in the region, land reform, and support to family agriculture.
Brasília, November 8, 2007
