Newsletter n 780

 

– CNBB and José Alencar will ask Lula to resume dialogue on the Transposition of the São Francisco river.

 

– Pataxó Resistance Front held its 6^th assembly in the Pascoal Mount area in the state of Bahia

 

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CNBB and José Alencar will ask Lula to resume dialogue on the Transposition of the São Francisco river.

 

The vice president of the Republic, José Alencar (PMR/Minas Gerais), and the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) took on the commitment to ask President Lula to resume the dialogue on the São Francisco river transposition project. On August 22, they received members of the Caravan Against the Transposition of the São Francisco River, who were in Brasília, for a meeting.

 

From August 20 to September 1, a group of specialists in the São Francisco river and in the semi-arid region (scientists, jurists, community leaders…) will be traveling to 11 Brazilian capital cities to sensitize rulers and populations on the threats posed by the São Francisco river transposition project.

 

The Caravan in defense of the São Francisco River and of the Semi-Arid Region intends to challenge the consensus created by a marketing campaign of the Federal Government around the project. “The government says that those who are against the transposition project are denying water to northeastern brothers and sisters, which is not true,” explains Rubem Siqueira, from the Land Pastoral Commission.

 

According to the Caravan’s members, the transposition is not an appropriate solution from the economic, technical, social, and environmental points of view. It would be impossible to distribute the pumped water to a scattered population – the one which suffers the effects of droughts most. Because it consumes a lot of energy, the water made available by the transposition of the São Francisco river will imply a very high cost for consumers or it will have to be subsidized forever by the Federal Government.

 

The group also warns that fundamental issues, such as a strategy for the sustainable development of the Brazilian semiarid region and the recovery of watersheds, are treated by the Federal Government as compensatory or co-opting measures.

 

“I don’t think the government is still discussing the transposition. Its position is that it is simply a project that should be implemented,” evaluated Rubem after meeting the vice president.

“He was touched with the diversity and seriousness of people. We did not expect to change his position, but he pledged to speak with the president to resume the discussions from the technical and social point of view,” he added.

At CNBB, the Caravan was received by the archbishops Geraldo Lyrio Rocks and Luiz Soares Vieira and by the bishop Dimas Lara Barbosa, who are the president, vice president and secretary general of the entity, respectively. At the end of the hearing, Dom Geraldo said that more dialogue is needed on the project. “A project of such magnitude, with so many implications, should not be implemented before all affected people are truly heard,” he said.

 

CNBB will submit a document to president Lula asking for more dialogue on the transposition of the São Francisco river. During the meeting with the Caravan, Dom Geraldo highlighted that the State should ensure the access of the population to quality water. The entity also recalled that both the life and lands of people living in the region should be respected.

 

Land reoccupations

Several indigenous peoples can be affected by the transposition, including the Truká and Tumbalalá peoples, who reoccupied part of their territories located in an area threatened by the project in the state of Bahia in July. About 400 Truká and 200 Tumbalalá remain in the reoccupied areas. They are pressing the Federal Government to complete the procedures for identifying and demarcating their lands.

 

According to the law, indigenous peoples must be consulted when a project planned to be carried out affects them. In the case of the transposition, this did not happen.

 

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Pataxó Resistance Front held its 6^th assembly in the Pascoal Mount area in the state of Bahia

 

At the heart of the Pascoal Mount area, 200 Pataxó from 11 villages located in the south tip of the state of Bahia held, between August 17 and 19, 2007, the 6^th Assembly of the Pataxó Resistance and Struggle Front. During the meeting, they discussed the demarcation of the Pascoal Mount area and the encroachment of eucalyptus monoculture projects on the region, among other topics.

 

Regarding the demarcation of the Pascoal Mount area, the assembly discussed the bounds of the area and decided to fight for a single, continuous territory. In 2000, the National Foundation for Indigenous People (Funai) set up a technical group to draw up a report on the area, but up till now it has not been published. Given this delay, the Pataxó decided to launch an international campaign for the demarcation of their territory.

 

During the Assembly, the encroachment of eucalyptus monoculture on the Pataxó territory was reported. According to the Pataxó, the Aracruz and Veracel Cellulose companies buy lands illegally acquired by farmers who also drove indigenous people out of these lands. Some of these areas are being disputed between the Pataxó and these companies. The Pataxó requested Funai to measure the quantity of hectares in indigenous lands that both companies invaded.

 

The indigenous people reported that the original forest in the areas invaded by the Veracel company is being destroyed for planting eucalyptus. They also warn that many rivers and lakes were contaminated by a poison used by the company, killing fish and plants of different kinds. In the Barra do Caí region, located in an indigenous land, the company plants eucalyptus trees through forest development projects.

 

The Assembly strengthened the organization of the Pataxó People, specifically of young people and women, who are becoming increasingly visible within the Pataxó indigenous movement.

 

In addition to indigenous people, the Assembly was attended by representatives of the Indianist Missionary Council, the National Indigenous Action Association, the Union of Bank Workers of the extreme south of Bahia, the Agricultural Workers Federation, the Center for Studies and Research for the Development of the South Tip of Bahia, the Ecumenical Service Coordination, the Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples and Organizations from the Northeast, Minas Gerais, and the state of Espírito Santo and of other organizations.

 

Brasília, August 23, 2007

www.cimi.org.br

Indianist Missionary Council