Brazil's Indigenous Battle with a Dry Amazon Rainforest

Brazil's indigenous land is being invaded by farms

Fire and drought hazards increase in the territory

Native residents change farming practices

By Andre Cabette Fabio

This scene has been repeated for generations by the Kalapalo tribe's Tanguro Village in Brazil's Xingu Indigenous Park.

Instead of the traditional thatched roofing, the communal home is covered in a white plastic sheet, which has been decorated with the brand logo and "for agricultural use only."

The roof is just one of the many signs of increased cattle- and soybean-farming on the Amazon's heavily deforested Southeast edges, where the rainforest is warming the fastest. In this region the dry season has gotten several weeks longer.

The rainforest is becoming drier and flammable, forcing the 16 ethnic groups that inhabit the area, and the more than 6,000 residents, to adapt their ancient farming techniques to preserve the land and provide enough food for themselves.

The people of Mato Grosso, Brazil’s soybean and beef center, are surrounded by fields and pastures that support Brazil’s exports. But they're running out of water and require government assistance to compensate for the poor harvests.

Private landowners are converting low-productivity pastures to water-intensive soybean crops and removing trees from their properties.

Conservation of the Amazon rainforest is vital for Indigenous peoples and the entire world. The Amazon rainforest is vital for the world and Indigenous peoples. It absorbs and stores huge amounts of carbon dioxide that warms our climate.

Carbon is released into the air as the Amazon is cut.

TIPPING POINT

Scientists say that the Southeast Amazon is vulnerable to a "tipping-point" due to its high temperatures, long dry season, fire rates, and deforestation.

There is no turning back once a tipping-point is reached. Nature is forced into a downward spiral that is self-reinforcing.

According to Carlos Nobre, a Brazilian climatologist, the forest would turn into a degraded form or even a "savannah" - an ecosystem of dry grassland with clusters and trees.

Experts say that large areas of Amazon are more prone to wildfires due to the deforestation, and warmer temperatures, which have reduced shade and moisture. Ongoing scientific debates are attempting to determine the exact location and extent of the tipping point in the Amazon.

Nature published a study in 2021 that found the Southeast Amazon emits more CO2 than it absorbs. This means more vegetation is dying rather than thriving.

Farmers tend to have a different perspective, distancing themselves from climate change.

Endrigo Dacin, a local producer's association Aprosoja councillor and soybean farmer, said that humans have little impact on climate.

He added, "Our rains depend heavily on the oceans."

A study published in Nature Communications in September showed that deforestation is responsible for 74% reduction of rainfall in the Amazon rain forest dry season since 1985.

Scientists say that localized versions of the tipping points may already be in play on the fragile Xingu Territory.

Residents say that as the water level drops and forests warm up, agriculture and fishing are becoming more difficult.

"We never imagined we would reach this point. The river is so dry that we are forced to push our boat at certain points," said Sikan Kalapaloo, a nursing students who lives in Tanguro Village.

He said, "We're now facing food shortages and certain plants are no longer producing."

FIRE CONTROL

The indigenous people of Xingu use fires for clearing land to cultivate small plots. This is a low impact intervention, as the plots are usually abandoned after a few years to allow the forest to regenerate.

In the last decade, more communities are taking precautions to prevent fires.

PrevFogo is a fire brigade operated by the Brazilian federal government. Local residents can also help.

Yunak Yawalapiti, a farmer in Yunak Village, watched PrevFogo agents burn 700 square meters of forest so that he could plant his manioc roots.

A firefighter issued a warning within minutes, signaling the spread of flames into the forest. Agents were notified to rush with water pumps.

The farmer remembered that the forest in the 90s was so humid, that fires did not spread during midday.

He said that it doesn't really matter when you start the fire. It spreads. It's as if there is gasoline everywhere.

Even under unsupervised slash and burn practices, the Xingu forest did not burn more than 10,000 hectares in a year.

Scientists have predicted that as forests near tipping points, they will see a change in the forest's fire proneness.

According to MapBiomas' 40-year data, the Amazon saw twice as many fires last year as the previous record in 2016.

In 2023, a technical analysis presented at the Brazilian Symposium of Hydraulic Resources revealed a connection between deforestation in the Xingu River Basin and lowered discharges of water.

Taliko Kalapalo, a linguistics student swimming in the Xingu river near Tanguro Village, pointed out children kicking water near a sandy shore.

He said that the river had lowered and the port was no longer as deep.

Adeal Carneiro is a city councillor for Querencia, where a part of the Xingu Territory is located. He said that the use of irrigation water by agribusinesses contributes to desiccation.

Imagine irrigating 2,900 acres (4,900 hectares) of land day and night. "It's a lot of water," said he.

The manioc roots, which are used to make tapioca (a staple food in Xingu), have also failed due to rising temperatures and drought.

Sikan Kalapalo said that communities rely on cash transfers or government aid packages to purchase food.

He said, "We cannot live this way forever and rely on assistance".

(source: Reuters)