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Murder of Two Yanomami by Illegal Miners Heightens Fears of Renewed Cycle of Violence in the Brazilian Amazon

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Yanomami People

Murder of Two Yanomami by Illegal Miners Heightens Fears of Renewed Cycle of Violence in the Brazilian Amazon

Yanomami People
Photo by Victor Morayama/ISA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2020

MEDIA CONTACTS
Maryka Paquette: or +1 (619) 517-4126
Camila Rossi: or +55 11 98152 8476
Instituto Socioambiental (ISA):
Survival International: or +44 (0) 7841 029 289

The Indigenous Hutukara Yanomami Association demands a rigorous investigation of the murders and reinforces the need for the Brazilian government to immediately expel more than 20,000 miners illegally operating on Yanomami land.

Roraima, Brazil – In a statement denouncing the murder of two Yanomami people by armed illegal gold miners on protected Indigenous territory, the Hutukara Yanomami Association raised fears that land invaders are driving a disastrous cycle that echos past genocidal violence.

According to an anonymous Yanomami witness during the first half of June, in the vicinity of Xaruna community in the Brazilian state of Roraima, a group of Yanomami visited an illegal mining camp to request food. Having received less food than requested, the witness claims they complained to the miners, who then pursued the group with firearms and murdered two of them.

“The murder of two more Yanomami by miners must be rigorously investigated and reinforces the need for the Brazilian State to act urgently and immediately remove all the miners who are illegally exploiting the Yanomami Territory and harassing and assaulting the indigenous communities who live there. We call on the authorities to take all necessary measures to stop the mining which continues taking Yanomami lives,” says the Hutukara statement. “We fear that the families of the murdered Yanomami will decide to retaliate against the miners, following the Yanomami culture’s system of justice, which could lead to a cycle of violence that will result in a tragedy.”

For decades, the Yanomami have resisted the invasion of illegal miners on their lands, but conflicts between communities and illegal gold miners remain frequent. It is estimated that more than 20,000 illegal miners currently operate within Yanomami Indigenous Territory.

Under the Bolsonaro government’s ongoing encouragement of Indigenous land invasions, the number of miners in the region has dramatically increased and native communities fear for their safety. This month’s murders are not an isolated problem and are likely to recur in other areas affected by illegal mining on Yanomami lands.

The Hutukara statement notes that a similar situation resulted in the Haximu massacre in 1993, when 16 Yanomami from the community of Haximu were murdered by miners, in the first case of genocide recognized by the Brazilian state. Twenty-seven years after the massacre, the Yanomami once again face widespread invasions of their lands.

The Yanomami witness account describes a cyclical, fraught relationship between the Yanomami and miners ever since the Indigenous territory suffered invasions of more than 40,000 wildcat miners in the 1980s. At first, miners arrive in small numbers in a community’s territory and seek friendly relations with the Yanomami, offering food and goods from the city. As the number of miners increases and their settlement becomes permanent, they feel at ease in the territory and come to regard the Yanomami as a nuisance. The Yanomami’s requests for merchandise from the city are ignored and relations become tense.

With the advance of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Yanomami and Ye’kwana Leadership Forum launched the #MinersOutCovidOut campaign, which has already collected 300,000 signatures for the immediate withdrawal of illegal miners from the Yanomami Territory. On June 16, Hutukara and the National Human Rights Council filed a request for precautionary measures with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The measure is intended to ensure that the Brazilian government takes concrete measures to protect the Yanomami.

The campaign is supported by the Association of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples (APIB), the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), Survival International, Greenpeace Brazil, Conectas Human Rights, Amnesty International Brazil, Amazon Cooperation Network (RCA), Igarapé Institute, Rainforest Foundation US, Rainforest Foundation Norway, and Amazon Watch.

Rainforest Foundation US was founded 30 years ago to promote the rights of indigenous peoples living in the rainforest and to support them and other forest communities in their effort to protect and defend their territories.

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Updated: Using Blockchain Technology to Protect the Rainforest

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Photo: Community members of Buen Jardin de Callaru.

Updated: Using Blockchain Technology to Protect the Rainforest

Rainforest Foundation US is using blockchain and related technology to track, verify, and link direct financing to communities for protecting and regenerating forests

Updated 25 June 2020: Please see the latest on this project below.

Rainforest Foundation and Regen Network have launched a blockchain based pilot project in the indigenous community of Buen Jardin de Callarú, Peru. We are using smart contracts to get funds directly to this frontline rainforest community based on verified evidence that they are protecting their forests.

By drastically reducing typical upfront project costs and aligning short term economic gain with long term ecological health, we are rebuilding the economics of community based forest protection. 

We aim to expand this cost effective system to communities across the Amazon, dramatically increasing the scale of investment to these frontline forest protectors that produce results that will have a global impact on our climate.

How it works

We use near real time satellite data to detect deforestation and forest cover, smartphone apps to track community level actions, and blockchain technology to issue smart contract payments to communities that have proven to protect or regenerate their forests.

Regen Network has created a blockchain based direct payments system where local communities can interface with investors and donors. This immutable system ensures that donor payments get where they need to go, and anyone can track how much went where and when.

Using a user friendly interface, businesses, institutions, governments, and individual donors can now find and pay for verified and unalterable evidence of forest protection from data sourced directly from a community and satellites.

Why we are doing this

One of the biggest challenges in tropical conservation and reforestation is ensuring that the limited funding available for on-the-ground work actually reaches the people on the ground.

All too often, funding for frontline defenders disappears in the hallways of well intentioned NGOs and what reaches the people who could put it to best use – such as indigenous communities – is only a fraction of the original sum. At the same time, foundations and corporate institutions interested in investing in front-line conservation often lack viable options that meet their monitoring, verification and transparency requirements. 

Rainforest Foundation US along with our indigenous federation partner ORPIO and tech partner Regen Network, are exploring alternatives to the traditional funding/transparency paradigm through blockchain technology. 

While the blockchain is most commonly referred-to in the same breath as cryptocurrency and feverish market runs, many believe that the real potential of blockchain tech goes far beyond digital coins. At its core, blockchain technology is essentially a transparent and immutable ledger for any type of transaction, including transactions between funding agencies and on-the-ground actors.

Through our pilot project we are exploring the possibility that communities interested in protecting their forests and reforesting destroyed or degraded habitat can connect directly with international funders via a transparent blockchain ledger and eliminate costly intermediaries. 

Our straight-forward hypothesis is that since forest cover and reforestation efforts can be easily detected by satellite, each acre protected or reforested can trigger payments from investors directly to the people or communities responsible for the work. The technology that could make this happen is already here. Frontline forest communities are ready to work. And we think impact-oriented investors are due a new and transparent model for protecting and recovering the forests of the world. 

Our Pilot Project

We are piloting this project in the Ticuna community of Buen Jardin de Callarú in the Loreto district of northern Peru. This community has agreed to collectively conserve 1,000 hectares of Amazon forest, and simultaneously undertake an ambitious reforestation project in currently degraded land. 

The community has set strict conservation rules, committing to zero deforestation for next year and beyond. The community will actively patrol their territory and monitor deforestation using their existing community monitoring program. The community investigates deforestation alerts they receive from the WRI Global Forest Watch system and investigate them using drones and other tools.

The community will be compensated for maintaining net zero deforestation through direct encrypted transfers using Regen Network’s blockchain based payment system. The community will collectively manage the funds, and funding transfers will be conditional upon the community’s compliance with an agreement signed between Buen Jardin de Callarú and Rainforest Foundation US.

The community has agreed to use the funds they collectively receive for maintaining forest cover to invest in reforestation of degraded lands. Buen Jardín de Callarú has suffered from historical deforestation from illegal logging, cattle ranching, and the cultivation of coca plantations. Families in the community have agreed to protect their collective forest and reforest at least 70 hectares in year one of the pilot project with native species. On average each hectare will be planted with 110 trees, with 100 trees expected to be successful.

Therefore, over 70 hectares, the project plans to grow 7,000 trees in year one. A hectare of Peruvian Amazon forest holds approximately 128 tons of carbon, according to official Peruvian government analysis.

The funds they receive for protecting their forest will be deposited into a communal bank account, which they are calling their “tree account” since they have collectively agreed to use these funds to cultivate seedlings that will be distributed to families to plant, tend, and monitor over the coming years.

Compliance with tree planting will be measured and verified by satellite data, as well as by the community forest monitors who will provide quarterly updates on the trees planted and their growth. This system will provide for continuous monitoring of reforestation and estimated net increase in carbon capture. This data will be attached to the blockchain. 

Update as of 25 June 2020

Thanks to the existing community-based territorial monitoring program, the community of Buen Jardín de Callarú has been able to reduce deforestation rates from approximately 10 percent annually to zero from 2018 to 2020. The community is now turning the page, from responding to deforestatino to proactively reforesting and maintaining existing forests in one of the most threatened areas of the Peruvian Amazon. The process was designed and is currently being implemented through community governance systems, such as the minga, or collective community action. The minga has revitalized community coordination to construct a local tree nursery, encourage a seedling exchange with surrounding communities, and facilitate cooperative tree planting. Since the beginning of the year, the community has planted nearly 1,000 trees in plots of previously degraded areas that are now under active management by individual families. In the region of Loreto, this system will be scaled up to plant more than 7,000 more trees in the pilot community of Buen Jardín de Callarú and in at least 12 other communities, covering upwards of 500 hectares.

Reforestation and the growth of every tree in the community plots are tracked by GPS and photographic image. The plots featured are those of community members Humbert Pisco (above) and Cahuachi (below).

Since March, COVID-19 has hit the Peruvian Amazon and the Ticuna communities engaged in the project particularly hard. Rainforest Foundation US joins the community in mourning their losses and is in regular communication to provide any additional support at this time. Though the impacts of the pandemic are tragic and real for Buen Jardín de Callarú, their continued efforts around forest protection and restoration shows their resilience as a community. Rainforest Foundation US and Regen Network will be working with Buen Jardín de Callarú to scale up the blockchain project over the coming year as conditions improve.

Rainforest Foundation US and Regen Network are initially partnering with the indigenous community of Buen Jardín de Callarú and neighboring communities in the eastern Peruvian Amazon. We intend to scale up projects in the northwest Peruvian Amazon along the Napo river basin, representing approximately 30,000 hectares in total. Remote, impoverished, and neglected tropical forest indigenous communities such as Buen Jardín de Callarú, have experienced rapacious degradation of their collectively owned forests for decades. With this partnership model we aim to reverse this trend and provide avenues for direct finance to communities to allow them to continue to protect and regenerate their forests.

We invite you to learn more or get involved by contacting: 

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Miners Out, COVID-19 Out: The Yanomami and Ye’Kwana People of the Brazilian Amazon Launch a Global Campaign to Expel Miners From Their Territory

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Miners Out, COVID-19 Out: The Yanomami and Ye’Kwana People of the Brazilian Amazon Launch a Global Campaign to Expel Miners From Their Territory

Miners Out Petition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 11, 2020

MEDIA CONTACTS
Maryka Paquette: or +1.619.517.4126
Camila Rossi: or +55.11.98152.8476

Indigenous leaders demand the urgent removal of 20,000 illegal gold miners from their lands to prevent the spread of COVID-19 through their villages. The disease could infect up to 40% of Yanomami communities if wildcat mining remains, threatening a new ethnocide.

Roraima State, Brazil – In a new global campaign led by a coalition of Yanomami and Ye’kwana organizations, indigenous leaders define the #MinersOutCovidOut campaign as “a cry for help against an old nightmare which has turned even more deadly.”  Launching internationally today, the campaign demands that the Brazilian government immediately remove more than 20,000 gold miners currently operating illegally in Yanomami territory.

“We are following the spread of COVID-19 in our land and are very saddened by the first deaths of the Yanomami. Our shamans are working non-stop against the xawara,” said Dario Kopenawa Yanomami, a young leader of his people and vice president of the Hutukara Yanomami Association. “Xawara” is the Yanomami word for epidemics brought by outsiders. “We will fight and resist. But we need support from the Brazilian people and people all over the world,” said Dario, who is the son of Davi Kopenawa, a Yanomami leader and one of the best-known shamans in the Amazon.

The Ye’kwana is a smaller indigenous group that lives alongside the Yanomami land. Together they comprise a total of 27,000 people dispersed across one of Brazil’s largest indigenous reserves that stretches between the Roraima and Amazonas states, straddling Venezuela’s border.

The mortality rate from COVID-19 for indigenous people is double the rate of the rest of the Brazilian population. So far, more than 2,900 indigenous people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and almost 260 have died according to the Association of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil (APIB). The disease has already killed four Yanomami and there are 95 more confirmed cases among the Yanomami and Ye’kwana.

Roughly half of the Yanomami territory’s population lives in communities less than five kilometers (3 miles) from an illegal mining site. A new study by Brazilian NGO Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) calculates possible transmission rate scenarios for those villages (1). According to their study, in one region of the Yanomami territory, a single case of COVID-19 could result in 962 new cases after 120 days. In the worst-case scenario, 5,603 Yanomami – 40% of the population in those communities – could become infected with the virus. The study also estimates that if the illegal miners remain, between 207 and 896 Yanomami could die as a result of COVID-19 – up to 6.4% of the population in those areas. The Yanomami face a real risk of an ethnocide.

To avert a tragedy, the Forum of Yanomami and Ye’kwana Leaders (2) is asking the Brazilian public and the global community to sign a petition to pressure Brazilian authorities to mobilize efforts for the complete and immediate removal of miners from their territory. Dario, a Yanomami leader, is the principal voice of the campaign and aims to mobilize national and global support for this critical cause.

Unfortunately, the spread of deadly diseases carried by gold miners and other invaders is not a new threat for the Yanomami. In the 1970s and 80s, the opening of roads and a major gold rush caused the death of 13% of the Yanomami population, from diseases like malaria and measles. Many elders still carry the pain of that memory; it is a part of Yanomami history. It is unfathomable that right now, thousands of miners are operating with impunity in the territory potentially exposing an entire people to COVID19, of an already acutely vulnerable population due to systemic racism and lack of access to public health resources.

According to the ISA report, the health centers that serve the Yanomami are among the least equipped in all of Brazil, as they have the lowest availability of beds and ventilators. The health centers closest to the miners invading their territory were scored worst of all (3). There are no pulmonary ventilators in most Amazonian municipalities. The average distance between indigenous villages and the nearest intensive care unit (ICU) in Brazil is 315 kilometers (196 miles), and for 10% of villages, that distance is between 700-1,079 kilometers (430- 670 miles). Yanomami people will have to travel almost three hours by plane to get to Boa Vista if they need an ICU with a ventilator. There are no land or river connections between the village and the capital of Roraima (4).

The campaign is supported by the Association of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil (APIB), Coordination of Indigenous Organizations in the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), Survival International, Greenpeace Brazil, Conectas Human Rights, Amnesty International Brazil, Amazon Cooperation Network (RCA), Igarapé Institute, Rainforest Foundation US, Rainforest Foundation Norway, and Amazon Watch.

Learn more and participate at MinersOutCovidOut.org

Rainforest Foundation US was founded 30 years ago to promote the rights of indigenous peoples living in the rainforest and to support them and other forest communities in their effort to protect and defend their territories. 

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Notes

(1) The study was carried out by the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) in partnership with the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), and reviewed by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation for Public Health (Fiocruz).

(2) The Yanomami and Ye’kwana Leadership Forum is a coalition of organizations including Hutukara Yanomami Association (HAY), Wanasseduume Ye’kwana Association (SEDUUME), Kumirayoma Yanomami Women’s Association (AMYK), Texoli Ninam Association of Roraima (TANER) and the Yanomami Association of the Cauaburis River and Tributaries (AYRCA).

(3) The study looked at a number of critical health units in the territory, estimating how the transmission of the disease in these places could happen. For example, in Surucucu, a representative of the District Council for Indigenous Health (Condisi) who tested positive for Covid-19 visited the area covered by the health unit. In the worst-case scenario, assuming the most intense transmission, this single case in the region could result in 962 new cases after 120 days. If nothing were done, that means that 39% of the population served by the health post would be infected. If the mortality rate is twice as high as in the non-indigenous population, there would be between 35 and 153 deaths, using the rates in Roraima and Amazonas states respectively.

(4) According to a study by the non-profit InfoAmazonia.

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SOS Rainforest Live: Major Artists Unite in Support of Indigenous Guardians of the Rainforests Threatened by the COVID-19 Pandemic

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SOS Rainforest Live: Major Artists Unite in Support of Indigenous Guardians of the Rainforests Threatened by the COVID-19 Pandemic

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 3, 2020

Updated as of June 17, 2020

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Kim Chaix: or +1.917.378.8670
Other media contacts listed below

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – On June 21st, major international artists will join in solidarity with indigenous peoples for a livestream concert to raise awareness and support for indigenous forest guardians under extreme threat from the coronavirus.

Participating artists include Sting (Rainforest Foundation Founder), Gilberto Gil, Caetano, Veloso, Milton Nascimento, Carlinhos Brown, Aurora, Jorge Drexler, Ana Vitoria, Manu Gavassi, Anitta, Sandy, Maná, Seu Jorge, Manu Chao, Gaby Amarantos, Tony Garrido and Maria Gadú (1). They will be joined by indigenous leaders, activists and celebrities including Actress Oona Chaplin, model and activist Gisele Bündchen, photographer Sebastião Salgado, Expert Climatologist Antonio Nobre, and Actor, Comedian and Writer Stephen Fry (2). For a full list, please visit SOSRainforestLive.org

All net proceeds from the event will go directly towards the COVID-19 relief effort in rainforest areas and on projects and advocacy to support indigenous and local communities in their efforts to protect their environment (3).

The livestream will be broadcast on TikTok, YouTube and other platforms in Brazil and around the world: 3:00pm New York City and Manaus, 16h00 São Paulo, 20h00 London and 21h00 Oslo.

In addition to broadcasting the livestream, TikTok, the platform for short cell phone videos, has committed to donate up to $300,000 to the SOS Rainforest LIVE event through livestream viewership and by hosting a dance challenge following an official SOS Rainforest Dance. All dance videos uploaded to the platform between 21-28 June 2020 that include the hashtag #SOSRainforestChallenge will qualify. See more dances on Rainforest Foundation’s TikTok account.

With destruction of tropical rainforests a key driver of global emissions, biodiversity loss and increasingly linked to disease outbreaks, protecting these forests is more critical than ever. Evidence is building that the best way to achieve this is to empower indigenous peoples and other forest guardians to secure, manage and protect the rainforests they call home (4).

But while the world is looking elsewhere, many areas are witnessing a surge of forest destruction and land invasions from illegal miners and loggers – further exposing local communities to COVID-19 and exacerbating the climate crisis.

Suzanne Pelletier, Executive Director of Rainforest Foundation US, said “indigenous peoples are among the most vulnerable to the novel coronavirus due to their greater susceptibility to respiratory and viral diseases and poor access to adequate medical facilities. Yet they are the ones protecting the ecosystems that safeguard the world from the rise of major pandemics in the first place. We must join together to support indigenous peoples now.” 

SOS Rainforest LIVE is being organized by Rainforest Foundation Norway, UK and the US. The event is being produced by Pedro Paulo Carneiro (general director), Analuisa Anjos (executive producer), with Ivan Sawyer (production assistant), Maryus Rydal (production assistant) and Lucas Tomas Neves (transmission coordinator).

Learn more and participate at: SOSRainforestLive.org

Rainforest Foundation was founded 30 years ago to promote the rights of indigenous peoples living in the rainforest and to support them and other forest communities in their effort to protect and defend their territories. Since its founding, the Rainforest Foundations of Norway, the UK and the US have together supported indigenous peoples’ efforts to protect more than 72 million hectares across four continents.

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Notes

(1) SOS Rainforest LIVE will include featured artists such as Sting, one of the founders of the Rainforest Foundation, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Milton Nascimento, Carlinhos Brown, Aurora, Jorge Drexler, Ana Vitoria, Manu Gavassi, Anitta, Sandy, Maná, Seu Jorge, Mathilda Holmer, Maria Gadu, Tony Garrido, Aurora, Aterciopelados, Manu Chao, Allan Parsons, Gaby Amarantos, Tropkillas + Duda Beat + Afro B, Lyla June, Lisa Simone, Jupiter and Okwes, Sandrayati, OMI, Dj Soul Slinger and Jorge Mautner, Evandro Mesquita, George Israel, Vanessa Falabella and Zeca Baleiro.

(2) SOS Rainforest LIVE will have the distinguished presence of indigenous peoples’ and other environmental defenders from the world’s major tropical rainforests including : Sonia Guajajara from the Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (APIB) and Dario Kopenawa Yanomami from Hutukara Associação Yamomami from Brazil and Rukka Sombolinggi of the Indonesia’s Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN), among others. The event will also feature messages from experts such as renowned climatologist Antonio Nobre and high-profile figures such as photographer Sebastião Salgado and Wagner Moura. The event will be co-hosted by Oona Chaplin of Game of Thrones and Avatar, and Brazilians Letícia Sabatella, Camila Pitanga, Maria Gadu and Toni Garrido.

(3) Indigenous and NGO partners include: The Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (APIB), the Hutukara Associação Yanomami, Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), and Conselho Indígena de Roraima (CIR) in Brazil; Indonesia’s Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN); DRC’s APEM and Cameroon’s APIFED; and Peru’s Organización Regional de los Pueblos Indígenas del Oriente (ORPIO).

(4) See for example: https://rightsandresources.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Stockholm-Prorities-and-Opportunities-Brief.pdf

Other press contacts

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Voces de los Pueblos: Respuesta COVID-19 en el Darién, Panamá

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Las mujeres del Congreso General de Tierras Colectivas Embera Wounaan (CGTCEW), en Panamá entregan ayuda alimentaria a las comunidades en cuarentena. Crédito: CGTCEW.

Voces de los Pueblos: Respuesta COVID-19 en el Darién, Panamá

To read in English click here

Los pueblos Emberá y Wounaan de los bosques más orientales de Panamá se han movilizado en las últimas semanas para abordar la amenaza de COVID-19 en sus comunidades. La región no es ajena a las epidemias (y se su integridad se ha mantenido intacta gracias en parte a enfermedades infecciosas del pasado). Pero el nuevo coronavirus amenaza a la población e incrementa el paso de la deforestación en sus territorios.

Desde el 25 de marzo del 2020, cuando Panamá declaró el Estado de Emergencia Nacional, sus ciudadanos han estado bajo “cuarentena absoluta”. Las personas solo se les permite salir de sus hogares para ir al supermercado o a la farmacia. Las regulaciones sobre quién puede ir y cuándo se definen según el día y la hora, según el género de una persona y los dígitos finales de su documento de identidad. Por ejemplo, si el último dígito de la tarjeta de identidad de un hombre es un tres, puede salir durante una hora a las 3 p.m. (permitiendo un tiempo de viaje de 30 minutos en cualquier extremo) los martes, jueves o sábados solamente. Las mujeres están restringidas a lunes, miércoles y viernes; el movimiento está restringido por completo los domingos.

Rainforest Foundation US (RFUS) escuchó de Elivardo Membache, el líder electo del Congreso General de Tierras Colectivas Emberá Wounaan, o CGTCEW, una organización socio de RFUS, sobre la respuesta que han tomado para brindar alivio a sus comunidades miembros a medida que el comercio y los medios de comunicación física disminuyen bajo COVID-19. Reconocido por el gobierno panameño, el Congreso es una organización indígena representativa construida sobre estructuras de gobierno tradicionales que aboga por el bienestar de las aproximadamente cuarenta comunidades Emberá y Wounaan que habitan en el Darién.

Rainforest Foundation US: ¿Cuál es la situación actual de COVID-19 en sus comunidades?

Elivardo Membache: COVID-19 ahora mismo está afectando el estatus económico y alimentario de los pueblos indígenas en la provincia de Darién donde ya hay unos 181 casos a través de toda la población de la provincia (hasta el 8 mayo 2020).

Aquí varias personas indígenas dependen en la economía local para sus sustentos y para alimentar a sus familias. Pero ahora han quedado sin empleo. No pueden movilizarse para hacer compras. Y si pueden, se encuentran que no hay comida disponible en las tiendas.

La gente tiene miedo de ir a los centros comerciales en la carretera panamericana dónde se han confirmado la mayoría de los casos. En Arimae, hay muchos jóvenes que trabajan en los centros comerciales que han quedado sin trabajo.

Las seis comunidades en la provincia de Chagres, dentro del Área de Canal de Panamá, se dedican 100% al ecoturismo lo cual está ahora paralizado. Tienen dos meses sin actividad y son múltiples semanas ahora que no pueden comprar ni comida. En mi caso, mi familia y yo tenemos carne propia para comer. Las comunidades deben sobrevivir con lo que hay porque la ayuda no llega a las comunidades más lejanas.

En Jaque, tenemos informes de que hay mujeres y jóvenes movilizándose para viajar a Colombia en búsqueda de alimentación y suministros, y por lo tanto hay autoridades indígenas de Colombia se quejando sobre la llegada de gente de Panamá.

Rainforest Foundation US: ¿Cuál es el estatus de servicios médicos en las comunidades Emberá y Wounaan?

Elivardo Membache: Además de afrontar la crisis económica y alimentaria, las comunidades no tienen acceso a medicamentos básicos ni a los servicios médicos de los cuales dependen normalmente.

En mi área de Santa Fe, hay mujeres dando luz en sus casas. Hay niños deshidratados, con diarrea, pero sus padres tienen miedo de llevarlos al hospital donde los doctores están atendiendo a cinco pacientes positivos por el coronavirus. Y eso es solo donde hay centros de salud y hospitales cerca. En las comunidades en la frontera, hay que caminar uno a dos días para llegar a un centro de salud.

100% de las comunidades no han tenido acceso a equipos de protección personal como guantes o mascarillas, ni alcohol ni otros productos para esterilizar. Además, no hay disponibilidad en las tiendas, y el Ministerio de Salud no está distribuyendo nada.

Rainforest Foundation US: ¿Cómo han cambiado las amenazas que enfrentan en tiempos normales los pueblos indígenas durante esta crisis?

Elivardo Membache: La situación de los bosques tropicales es aún más preocupante de lo normal. Los traficantes y operadores ilegales siguen desabasteciendo el bosque. Hemos recibido noticias de que hay tala ilegal de árboles en Jaque, en Playa Muerto. Los traficantes están tomando ventaja de que las autoridades no están de pie en sus puestos regulares ya que están enfocados en otras cosas.

En Río Congo, los campesinos continúen sus prácticas de deforestación. La situación está peor que lo normal porque ahora hay sequía en los bosques. Pero la dirigencia de los pueblos indígenas está asustada y no quiere salir y presentar denuncias debido a la posibilidad de contraer el virus.

Rainforest Foundation US: ¿Cuál es la respuesta del gobierno frente a los retos de las comunidades indígenas?

Elivardo Membache: Para los pueblos indígenas frente al COVID-19, las acciones del gobierno no son tan impactantes. El Plan Solidaridad del gobierno incluye la distribución de “mega bolsas” de alimentos, pero la distribución está enfocada en la ciudad. No van a llegar a las comunidades rurales y fronterizas.

Mientras tanto, hay otra situación muy preocupante en lo que está surgiendo para las comunidades del río arriba. Ellas no quieren que la gente entre sus territorios, pero hay temor de que SENAFRONT (El Servicio Nacional de Fronteras de Panamá) se va a hacer una rotación de tropas que guardan las fronteras mientras las comunidades deben quedarse en cuarentena. Los miembros de las comunidades temen que las nuevas tropas pudiesen introducir el contagio a sus pueblos. He hablado con el comandante quien ha dicho que no van a hacer rotación de las tropas por el momento.

Rainforest Foundation US: ¿Cómo ha respondido la dirigencia indígena frente la crisis?

Elivardo Membache: Estamos difundiendo información a las comunidades sobre COVID-19, recomendando que gente queden en sus casas, no dejen entrar a la comunidad gente de afuera, y hacer uso de los medicamentos que tengan a mano. También estamos divulgando recetas de medicinas tradicionales para aliviar los síntomas del coronavirus.

Las comunidades se necesitan sal, azúcar, aceite, entre otros alimentos además de fósforos, jabón, y equipo de protección personal para prevenir o contener el virus. Por eso, como Congreso hemos organizado una recaudación de fondos y, junto con voluntarios del Feed Panama, estamos distribuyendo sacos de alimentos, mascarillas, y guantes a las comunidades aisladas de Arimae y Bajo Chiquito. Entre tanto hemos visto una historia de solidaridad emerger entre estas comunidades y sus familiares en la capital que tienen problemas ante la cuarentena y aislamiento domiciliario. A su petición como Congreso hemos coordinado también el trasporte de plátano, yuca y ñame para alimentar a esas familias.

También estamos difundiendo información al gobierno frente a la realidad de las comunidades en esta crisis. Escribimos una carta al gobierno y difundimos un comunicado de prensa, haciendo eco de las llamadas de las comunidades y pidiendo asesoría del Ministerio de Salud.

Vemos que todos estos esfuerzos son solo el inicio, pero. Si hay un brote en las comunidades, sería una situación grave. Ahora el esfuerzo es para prevenir eso.

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Voices from the Ground: COVID Response in the Darien, Panama

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Women of the Embera-Wounaan Collective Land Congress (Congreso General de Tierras Colectivas Embera Wounaan, or CGTCEW) in Panama deliver food aid to quarantined communities. Credit: CGTCEW.

Voices from the Ground: COVID Response in the Darien, Panama

Para leer en español haga clic aquí

The Embera and Wounaan peoples of Panama’s easternmost forests have been mobilizing in recent weeks to address the threat of COVID-19 in their communities. The region is no stranger to epidemics and its integrity ha remained intact largely thanks to past infection diseases. But the novel coronavirus is straining the local population as the threat of deforestation in their territories creeps higher.

Since 25 March 2020 when Panama declared the State of National Emergency, its citizens have been under ‘absolute quarantine’. Individuals are only allowed to leave their homes to go to the grocery store or to the pharmacy. Regulations of who can leave and when are defined by the day and hour, depending on a person’s gender and the final digits of their identity card. For example, if the last digit of a man’s identity card is a three, he can leave for one hour at 3pm (with 30 minutes travel time permitted on either end) on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday only. Women are restricted to Monday, Wednesday and Friday; movement is restricted entirely on Sundays.

Rainforest Foundation US (RFUS) heard from Elivardo Membache, the elected leader of the Embera-Wounaan Collective Land Congress (Congreso General de Tierras Colectivas Embera Wounaan, or CGTCEW), a RFUS partner, about the response that they have taken to bring relief to their member communities as trade and livelihoods dwindle under COVID-19. Recognized by the Panamanian government, the Congress is a representative indigenous organization built upon traditional governance structures that advocates for the well-being of its forty or so Embera and Wounaan communities in the Darien.

Rainforest Foundation US: How are you seeing COVID-19 is affecting the communities in your region?

Elivardo Membache: COVID-19 is currently affecting the economic status and food supplies of indigenous peoples in Darien province, where there are already some 181 cases across the entire population of the province (as of 8 May 2020).

Here, several indigenous persons depend on the local economy for their livelihoods and to feed their families. But now they are unemployed. They cannot move around to go shopping but regardless there is no food available in stores.

People are afraid to go to the commercial centers along the Pan-American Highway where there are the majority of confirmed cases. In Arimae, there are many young people who work in these malls who have lost their jobs.

The six communities in the Chagres province, in the Panama Canal Area, are dedicated 100% to ecotourism which is now paralyzed. They have been without work for two months and it is multiple weeks now that they cannot buy food. In my case, my family and I have our own meat to eat. Communities must survive on what there is, because aid is not reaching remote communities.

In Jaque, there are reports that there are women and youth organizing themselves to travel to Colombia in search of food and supplies; therefore, there are indigenous authorities in Colombia complaining about the arrival of people from Panama.

Rainforest Foundation US: What is the status of medical services in the Embera and Wounaan communities?

Elivardo Membache: In addition to facing the economic and food crisis, communities do not have access to basic medicines or the medical services on which they normally depend.

In my area of Santa Fe, there are women giving birth in their homes. There are dehydrated children who have diarrhea but their parents are afraid to take them to the hospital where the doctors are treating five coronavirus-positive patients. And that’s just where there are health centers and hospitals nearby. In border communities, you have to walk one to two days to reach a health center.

100% of communities have not had access to personal protective equipment such as gloves or masks, alcohol or other sterilization products. What’s more, there is no availability in stores, and the Ministry of Health is not distributing anything.

Rainforest Foundation US: How are you seeing the ongoing threats to indigenous peoples changing during this crisis?

Elivardo Membache: The situation around tropical forests is even more worrying than normal. Illegal traffickers and operators continue to exploit the forest. We have received news that there is illegal logging in Jaque, in Playa Muerto. Traffickers are taking advantage of the fact that the authorities are not standing in their regular posts, as they are focused on other things.

In Rio Congo, farmers continue their deforestation practices. The situation is worse than normal because now there is a drought in the forests. But indigenous peoples’ leaders are scared to go out and file complaints due to the possibility of contracting the virus.

Rainforest Foundation US: What is the government’s response to the challenges of indigenous communities?

Elivardo Membache: The actions of the government are not very impactful on the reality of indigenous peoples in the face of COVID-19. The government’s Solidarity Plan includes the distribution of what they call “mega bolsas” (or “huge bags”) of food, but the distribution of these is focused on the city. They will not reach rural and frontier communities.

Meanwhile, there is another very worrying situation in what is emerging for upriver communities. They do not want people to enter their territories, but there is fear that SENAFRONT (The National Border Service of Panama) is going to rotate the troops that guard the borders while the communities must stay in quarantine. Members of the communities fear the new troops could introduce the contagion to their villages. I have spoken to the commander who has said that they are not going to do a troop rotation for the moment.

Rainforest Foundation US: How has the indigenous leadership responded to the crisis?

Elivardo Membache: We are disseminating information to the communities about COVID-19, recommending that people stay in their homes, do not let outsiders enter the community, and make use of the medicines on hand. We are also sharing recipes for traditional medicines to alleviate the symptoms of the coronavirus.

Communities need salt, sugar, oil, among other foods, in addition to matches, soap, and personal protective equipment to prevent and contain the virus. That is why the Congress has organized a fundraiser and, together with Feed Panama volunteers, we are distributing bags of food, masks and gloves to the isolated communities of Arimae and Bajo Chiquito. In the meantime, we have seen a story of solidarity emerge between these communities and their relatives in the capital who are having problems in the face of quarantine and home isolation. At their request, the Congress has also coordinated the transport of plantain, cassava and yam to feed these families.

We are also disseminating information to the government regarding the reality of the communities in this crisis. We wrote a letter to the government and issued a press release, echoing the calls of the communities, and asking the Ministry of Health to advise.

We see that all of these efforts are only the beginning, however. If there is an outbreak in the communities, it would be a very grave situation. The effort now is to prevent that.

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Rainforest Foundation US Partners With Indigenous Peoples and Ally Organizations on New Amazon Emergency Fund

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Rainforest Foundation US Partners With Indigenous Peoples and Ally Organizations on New Amazon Emergency Fund

While governments scramble to respond to escalating COVID-19 cases, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the needs of indigenous and other forest peoples—some of the most vulnerable populations to the novel coronavirus—are going by the wayside in national efforts to confront the pandemic. What resources governments are investing are not adequately reaching communities in need and the plans that do exist are not always being developed or implemented in coordination with indigenous peoples’ representative organizations—those best suited to advise on effective responses for their member communities.

Despite little national support, indigenous leaders have been raising awareness and mobilizing resources to help keep their communities protected, healthy and safe. But in the last month alone, COVID-19 cases have skyrocketed across the Amazon Basin and the first cases have been reported in indigenous territories. As of May 4th, the best data indicates that over 26,500 cases have been registered in the Amazon basin, 179 of which are in indigenous peoples’ territories, and of the 1630 deaths reported, 33 were indigenous people.

Out of growing concern for the state of the national response with respect to indigenous populations, many national and international NGOs and donors, including Rainforest Foundation US, have come together with the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin (Coodinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca Amazónica, or COICA), the umbrella group of indigenous peoples’ representative organizations in the nine countries spanning the Amazon basin.

It is clear that the need for funding and the ability to deliver support to communities in need is much greater than the resources or networks of any one individual organization, which is why it is essential to come together to share information, resources and networks of support.

As a result, this new alliance issued a statement in solidarity with the calls of indigenous peoples’ organizations and joined forces with them to launch an Amazon-wide fund to directly support indigenous communities across the Amazon facing the threat of COVID-19.

The Amazon Emergency Fund will support rapid response grants for urgent and immediate prevention and care, food and medical supplies, emergency communications and evacuation, protection and security for forest guardians, and sustainable food systems and community resilience.

Panelists in the press conference for the launch of the fund (from left to right, top to bottom): José Gregorio Díaz Mirabal, Coordinating Body of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin (COICA); Tabea Casique Coronado, COICA; Julio César López, National Organization of the Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon (OPIAC); Elcio Severino da Silva Machineri, Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB); Sirito-Yana Aloema, Organization Of Natives in Suriname (OIS); Suzanne Pelletier, Rainforest Foundation US. The conference moderator was Leila Salazar-Lopez, Amazon Watch.

Rainforest Foundation US is acting as the initial fiscal sponsor for the Amazon Emergency Fund. We are both proud and comfortable playing this role, since for over 30 years we have worked in partnership with indigenous peoples and provided direct financial support to indigenous peoples’ organizations to advocate for their rights and protect their forests. Rainforest Foundation US will issue disbursements directly to solicitations for support approved by the governing council and will have complete transparency with the governing council in our financial role.

What follows are selected remarks from Rainforest Foundation US Executive Director, Suzanne Pelletier, speaking alongside indigenous leaders during the press conference on May 6th, 2020 to announce the launch of the fund:

“We’ve worked with partners to address a wide variety of threats to indigenous peoples lives and resources over the years, but nothing that could have as large an impact to indigenous peoples lives and future as this pandemic.

“We have created this fund to directly support communities across the Amazon facing the threat of COVID-19, but I think it is important to mention that this fund will also indirectly benefit all of humanity, since this pandemic is not only a humanitarian emergency, it is also an environmental emergency.

“Indigenous peoples across the Amazon are the last line of defense against forest destruction, and our best hope of mitigating climate crisis. So, keeping these communities, who are the guardians of the forest, safe is critical to maintaining life on our Earth for all of us, no matter where we live.

“By uniting in this unprecedented alliance of NGOs, donors and indigenous leadership, we are confident that we will have a more profound impact across the Amazon, especially at the community level where it is needed most.

“I’d like to stress the urgency of launching this fund now and providing support as soon as possible, since we have a very short window of time to act quickly and effectively across a vast region, if we are going to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in communities.

“With such a broad group of allies coming together, I hope this fund will be an example of what can be possible when we deepen our collaboration across borders and among allies to help meet the urgent needs of indigenous communities to get the resources they need to stay safe and protect their forests.

“I hope we are successful, because if we do not help indigenous communities stay safe, the impact will be felt not just in the Amazon, but across the world.”

With Rainforest Foundation US, the current members of the Founding Solidarity Circle of the Amazon Emergency Fund include:

COICA and its 9 national organizations (Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Jungle, or AIDESEP (Peru); Amerindian Peoples Association of Guyana, or APA (Guyana); Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of the East, Chaco and Amazon of Bolivia, or CIDOB (Bolivia); Coordination of Indigenous Organizations in the Brazilian Amazon, or COIAB (Brazil), Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon, or CONFENIAE (Ecuador); Federation of Indigenous Organizations in Guyana, or FOAG (French Guiana); Organization of Indigenous People in Suriname, or OIS (Suriname); National Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon, or OPIAC (Colombia); Regional Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon, or ORPIA (Venezuela)), Amazon AID Foundation, Amazon Frontlines, Amazon Watch, AVAAZ, CASA Socio-Environmental Fund, Derecho, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (DAR), Digital Democracy, The Climate Alliance, Fundación Pachamama, Global Wildlife Conservation, The HAHKU Project, The Interfaith Rainforest Initiative, Sustainable Amazon Foundation (FAS), Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Amazonia, Pachamama Alliance, Rainforest Action Network, Rainforest Alliance, Women’s Earth & Climate Action Network, and International (WECAN).

For those who would like to join the Founding Solidarity Circle as an ally or advisor for this fund to please contact: .

For more information and to donate please visit amazonemergencyfund.org

Additional Reading

6 May 2020 | Press Release:
COVID-19: Inaction and Lack of Funds Threatens Over Three Million Indigenous People and Over 400 Ethnic Groups in the Amazon

11 May 2020 | The New Humanitarian:
https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/feature/2020/05/11/coronavirus-Latin-America-Amazon-indigenous-communities

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Amazon Emergency Fund Scales Up

The Amazon Emergency Fund (AEF) received a $2 million donation from the French Government to deliver COVID-19 relief to indigenous communities.

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Se Lanza una Nueva Herramienta para Optimizar la Respuesta al COVID-19 en las Comunidades Indígenas de Panamá

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Se Lanza una Nueva Herramienta para Optimizar la Respuesta al COVID-19 en las Comunidades Indígenas de Panamá

To read in English click here.

Panamá, como todos los países a nivel mundial, está enfrentando la difícil situación que presenta COVID-19 que ya ha superado los 170 fallecidos a nivel nacional y más de 6 mil casos confirmado. Las áreas vulnerables como los de los pueblos indígenas no se escapan de esta realidad.

La Coordinadora Nacional de Pueblos Indígenas de Panamá (COONAPIP), socio de Rainforest Foundation US en Panamá, está ejecutando un Proyecto de Seguridad Territorial (PST), en conjunto con los distintos congresos y consejos tradicional para asegurar una respuesta coordinada se diriga a los retos y necesidades de los pueblos indígenas del país frente al COVID-19.

Con el apoyo de aliados estratégicos que cuenta la COONAPIP y apoyo técnico de Rainforest Foundation US, técnicos de la COONAPIP están trabajando de manera organizada para facilitar, de manera remota, el apoyo y información relacionados en los casos de COVID-19 en los distintos territorios.

Esta aplicación web busca visibilizar los esfuerzos de muchos aliados locales, extranjeros, indígenas y no indígenas, tanto como gobiernos locales, etc., que están llevando alimentos, insumos de limpieza, y información adecuado sobre la situación. Se anticipa que esta herramienta así pueda focalizar los esfuerzos de una manera más estratégica e informada para una mejor toma de decisiones. Al mismo tiempo la herramienta pieda facilitar la coordinación con comunidades de alta prioridad por medios de las autoridades tradicionales u organización humanitaria local.

El mapa utiliza fuentes oficiales generadas por el Ministerio de Seguridad y Ministerio de Salúd para información sobre las vías de accesos, cercos sanitarios, territorios indígenas con casos identificados y poblados potenciales amenazadas.

Mire el mapa aquí.

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Launching New Tool to Optimize COVID-19 Response in Panama’s Indigenous Communities

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Launching New Tool to Optimize COVID-19 Response in Panama’s Indigenous Communities

Para leer en español haga clic aquí

Panama, like all countries worldwide, is facing the difficult situation presented by COVID-19, having already exceeded 170 deaths at the national level and more than 6,000 confirmed cases. Vulnerable areas such as those of indigenous peoples do not escape this reality.

The National Coordinator of Indigenous Peoples of Panama (Coordinadora Nacional de Pueblos Indígenas de Panamá, or COONAPIP), a partner of the Rainforest Foundation US in Panama, is executing a Territorial Security Project (PST) in conjunction with the various traditional congresses and councils to ensure a coordinated response addresses the challenges and needs of the indigenous peoples of the country in the face of COVID-19.

With the support of strategic allies from COONAPIP and technical support from the Rainforest Foundation US, technicians from COONAPIP are working in an orchestrated way to facilitate remote support and information related to COVID-19 cases in the different territories.

This web application seeks to make visible the efforts of many local, foreign, indigenous and non-indigenous allies, as well as local governments, etc., who are bringing food, cleaning supplies, and adequate information on the situation. It is anticipated that this tool can thus focus efforts in a more strategic and informed way for better decision-making. At the same time, the tool can facilitate coordination with high priority communities through the means of the traditional authorities or local humanitarian organization.

The map uses official sources generated by the Ministry of Security and Ministry of Health for information on access roads, sanitation blockades, indigenous territories with identified cases and potential threatened villages.

View the map here

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Voices from the Ground: COVID-19 Response in Loreto, Peru

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Betty Rubio Padilla presenting information about the risks of COVID-19 to the Puerto Arica Community in the Napo River basin.

Voices from the Ground: COVID-19 Response in Loreto, Peru

Reported cases of COVID-19 ballooned to 529 in Iquitos, the departure point to most indigenous territories in the Peruvian Amazon, as of Monday 20 April 2020.

Indigenous Kichwa leader Betty Rubio Padilla, President of the Native Community Federation of the Medio Napo, Curaray y Arabela (Federación de Comunidades Nativas del Medio Napo, Curaray y Arabela, or FECONAMNCUA) and Ticuna leader Francisco Hernandez Cayetano, President of the Federation of the Ticuna and Yaguas Communities of the Lower Amazon (Federación de Comunidades Ticunas y Yaguas del Bajo Amazonas, or FECOTYBA), both affiliates of the Indigenous Peoples’ Organization of the Eastern Amazon (Organización Regional de los Pueblos Indígenas del Oriente, or ORPIO), are actively coordinating their response with Rainforest Foundation US and ORPIO, local government officials from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Culture and Peruvian security forces to support local communities who are imminently threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic (see map).

Meanwhile, the Peruvian government has been strictly enforcing travel restrictions in Loreto, where they are based, to reinforce the national quarantine, which are negatively affecting indigenous communities’ access to basic necessities, medicine and communication. Rainforest Foundation US has been in regular communication with Betty Rubio Padilla and Francisco Hernandez Cayetano. Their testimony is shared below.

Photo above: Francisco Hernandez Cayetano leads the implementation of a network of community forest monitors to track deforestation in Lower Amazonas that has been essential to get information out about COVID-19.

Rainforest Foundation US: How are you seeing COVID-19 impacting your communities?

Betty Rubio: The coronavirus is restricting travel for our community members to protect them from those who could be carrying the virus, especially if it is known that they are coming from the cities. People are really scared to leave their villages and we still do not have protective equipment, so we have to be very strict to minimize our contact with outsiders. However, because of these restrictions, many people are unable to talk or see their relatives in other communities. But what is making us start to worry is the fact that the travel restrictions are causing many, many communities to run out of food.

Francisco Hernandez: Our communities are tremendously concerned about the impacts of the coronavirus could have on them. We have never experienced an epidemic like this. Community members are frightened every time someone has to travel to cities for emergencies. Our communities are very close together and we cannot carry out social distancing like in the cities. In addition, we are very worried that our neighbors from the Brazilian cities of Tabatinga and Benjamin Constant are already infected and what that might mean for our exposure to the virus (See map).

Indigenous community-based forest monitor Mao Noteno shares information about COVID-19 with a smartphone in the Monterrico community

The restricted travel due to the coronavirus keeps us from being able to travel to cities to sell our products and, visa versa, supplying the communities with needed provisions. Now the markets are empty and no outside food is coming to the community. People are starting to run out of food. There is nothing to buy and people cannot sell or trade. This is causing panic. Some communities do not have their own food supply.

Rainforest Foundation US: What measures are you taking to inform and protect the communities you represent?

Betty Rubio: As representatives of the Federation, we are taking great precaution as we communicate with community leaders about the risks of the coronavirus. Most communities do not receive information from the government or media. So we have had to do outreach ourselves to share how this disease spreads, how to protect ourselves, and how to respect the quarantine. We have told the community leaders not to interact with any outsiders, not even a family member who comes from the city. Also, we advised them to avoid going to any city even in the same district because there are many people who are gathering despite the State of Emergency decree. The infographic that ORPIO and Rainforest Foundation US produced has been very helpful because it is information that community leaders trust because it is from us. Because we all have it in our smartphones, we can show it over and over again. We try to reassure them that if they stay in the community where no one can infect them, they are going to be fine. But people are afraid.

Map image
Map image above: Confirmed cases of COVID-19 are rapidly increasing in municipalities closest to indigenous peoples’ territories in Loreto. In some places, cases are more than doubling every few days.

Francisco Hernandez: With the Federation’s support, we are translating and distributing the ORPIO/Rainforest Foundation US infographics in the Ticuna language. Many Ticuna people do not speak Spanish well or read Spanish, so having the information in Ticuna has been very important. Now everybody knows about the coronavirus and are afraid. Now, they prohibit anyone from entering and we tell them to not go to Brazil right now, where there are already many cases of coronavirus. Because of our efforts, community members are not leaving their territories.

Rainforest Foundation US: Are you still experiencing threats to your territories, such as illegal logging and mining? If so, what measures are you taking?

Betty Rubio: The threats to the area in terms of illegal logging and mining have not stopped. These people continue with their activities knowing very well that the authorities are not going to be able to find them since they are in very remote areas. We are very concerned about this continuing. We are looking at how to inform government authorities about these illegal activities to bring the perpetrators to justice. But this will be difficult without the evidence that we usually acquire in our regular monitoring patrols. We cannot travel, but we want to inform the authorities that illegal activities are taking place and solicit their action.

Francisco Hernandez: We have threats in our communities caused by illegal loggers and drug traffickers who are taking advantage of the chaotic situation and lack of law enforcement. Previously, we have coordinated with local authorities, with our satellite-based community monitoring system. Despite the travel restrictions and enforcement of the quarantine, activities such as illegal logging, mining and land invasions continue. We are afraid to confront these actors because of health concerns. The authorities are busy with the enforcement of the quarantine. This situation is likely to result in increasing threats.

Indigenous community-based forest monitor Angel Abarca shares information about COVID-19 with a smartphone in the Rumi Tumi community.

Rainforest Foundation US: What are your community’s needs at this time to confront the pandemic?

Betty Rubio: The most urgent needs right now in the Napo area are medicines. Since community members cannot leave their communities, they are isolated, without access to basic medical supplies. Because of this, they also do not have basic necessities, like soap or matches or salt. The local stores are in short supply because no one can transport the products. In addition, fuel is the fundamental need for the communities that do not even have access to electricity. But the ban on travel is affecting people’s ability to acquire fuel too.

Francisco Hernandez: Our communities urgently need food and basic medicine for common health problems. They need food because the markets are empty. They need medicines because the health posts are empty. There are no supplies. Another need is fuel. Why? Because if somebody comes down with the coronavirus, we will need to get them to a hospital. We do not have protective gear like masks and gloves that they say that we are supposed to wear. But there is nowhere to buy them here. We also need phone credit so that we can stay in contact with the latest information and in case of emergencies.

Community leaders and forest monitors take time from their regular activities to guard the entry to the village of Rumi Tumi, along the Napo river in the Peruvian Amazon, to protect their community from COVID-19.

 

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COVID-19: Pueblos Indígenas de Perú Enfrentan Escasez de Alimentos y Deficiencias en Atención de Salud

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COVID-19: Pueblos Indígenas de Perú Enfrentan Escasez de Alimentos y Deficiencias en Atención de Salud

El cierre total de sus territorios fue la primera medida que adoptaron las comunidades indígenas cuando el gobierno peruano, el 16 de marzo, decretó el Estado de Emergencia ante el avance del coronavirus.

Cerraron caminos, puentes, impidieron el ingreso de embarcaciones por ríos e incluso prohibieron los vuelos a lugares lejanos. Así, casi un millón de personas que viven en comunidades indígenas amazónicas de Perú apostaron por el aislamiento como la mejor forma de protegerse de la amenaza del nuevo virus.

Read the Full Article at Mongabay Latam »

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Rainforest Foundation US is tackling the major challenges of our day: deforestation, the climate crisis, and human rights violations. Your donation moves us one step closer to creating a more sustainable and just future.