These reserves will allow native peoples the exclusive use of natural resources.
The President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvasigned decrees demarcating six new territories for indigenous peoples on Friday, the first since 2018, during a meeting with representatives of original towns in Brasilia.
These new reserves, which guarantee indigenous peoples andl exclusive use of natural resources preserving their traditional way of life, are considered by scientists as one of the main barriers against deforestation of the Amazon, whose control is one of the government’s priority objectives.
“Es a process that takes time, but we are going to work so that the largest possible number of indigenous reserves are demarcated. If we want to achieve zero deforestation by 2030 we need the maximum number of demarcated lands,” President Lula said.
Lula made the announcement on the occasion of the closing of the 19th edition of the “Terra Livre” (free land) camp, an annual meeting that this week brought together thousands of indigenous people from all over the country in an open-air area in the capital of Brazil.
No new reserve was created under the mandate of the far-right Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), Lula’s predecessor, who had promised before coming to power “not to give an inch” to the native peoples.
Under the Bolsonaro presidency, average annual deforestation increased by 75% compared to the previous decade.
The last approval had been on April 26, 2018 under the presidency of Michel Temer (2016-2018), referring to the Baia do Guató indigenous land, an area of 20,000 hectares in the state of Mato Grosso (center-west).
Where are the lands located?
Two of the six new demarcations approved on Friday They are located in the Amazonincluding the largest, called Unieuxi, assigned to 249 indigenous peoples of the Maku and Tukano peoples, in more than 550,000 hectares in the state of Amazonas (north).
Two others are located in the northeast of the country, a fifth in the south and the last one in the central region.
Lula, 77, signed the decrees together with prominent indigenous leaders, such as the iconic chieftain Raoni Metuktire, who presented him with a traditional headdress of blue and red feathers and placed it on the president’s head.
“In four years we will do more (for the indigenous peoples) than in the eight years that we have governed the country (2003-2010),” promised the left-wing president, who began his third term in government in January.
According to the last census, dating from 2010, in the largest South American country vthere are about 800,000 indigenousthe majority in reserves that occupy 13.75% of the territory.
“When it is said that you occupy 14% of the territory and you think it is a lot, it is necessary to remember that before the arrival of the Portuguese you occupied 100% of the territory“said Lula, cheered by the public.
New demarcations are expected to be approved soon.
Last month, the Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, announced that 14 territories (including the six approved on Friday) were ready to be placed under indigenous managementcovering a total of about 900,000 hectares.
“We are going to write a new history, for the good of all humanity, of our planet,” said the minister on Friday, shortly before the signing of the decrees.
AFP