By Inter-Press Service The land conflict between the Guaraní-Kaiowá indigenous people and large landowners in the southwestern Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul is a powder keg ready to explode, say observers. Nísio Gomes, Jenivaldo Vera, Rolindo Vera, Teodoro Ricardi, Ortiz and Xurete Lopes are just a few of the names on a long … Continue reading Large landowners in southwestern Brazil have killed 279 indigenous people since 2003→
By Agence France-Presse Brazil’s Supreme Court has approved the resumption of work on the huge Belo Monte dam in the Amazon, which was halted earlier this month after protests from indigenous groups. The preliminary ruling on Monday overturns an earlier ruling that ordered construction of the dam across the Xingu River, a tributary of the … Continue reading Supreme Court of Brazil allows developers to continue construction of Belo Monte dam→
By Fabiola Ortiz / Inter Press Service The Sete Quedas or “seven waterfalls” on the Teles Pires River, which runs through the Amazon rainforest states of Mato Grosso and Pará in central Brazil, are a spiritual oasis venerated by several indigenous groups. But the 20-metre-high rocky falls are to be covered by a reservoir created … Continue reading Massive Teles Pires dam project in Brazil would flood sacred Kayabi Indian site→
By Zachary Hurwitz / International Rivers Federal Judge Souza Prudente of the Federal Tribunal of Brazil’s Amazon region suspended all work today on the Belo Monte Dam, invalidating the project’s environmental and installation licenses. While the project has been suspended previously on numerous occasions, and those suspensions overturned on political grounds, this latest decision could … Continue reading Federal court in Brazil suspends construction of Belo Monte dam→
By Survival More than 50 gunmen have launched a full-scale attack on an Indian community in southwest Brazil, shooting, threatening and then reportedly kidnapping one of their leaders. The violence began on Friday, shortly after the Guarani community reoccupied part of its ancestral land, which is now occupied by ranchers. A Guarani spokesman described how … Continue reading More than fifty gunmen attack Guarani village in Brazil, kidnap community leader→
By Rhett Butler / Mongabay A directive signed Monday by Brazil’s Solicitor-General could hamper the efforts of indigenous tribes to win government recognition of their traditional lands, reports Survival International, a human rights group focused on native peoples. The directive “opens up all indigenous areas to mineral, dams, roads, military bases and other developments of … Continue reading Brazil opens indigenous lands to dams, mining, and military bases in “national interest”→
By Amazon Watch Three engineers employed by Norte Energia, S.A (NESA), the company building the Belo Monte Dam on Brazil’s Xingu river, were detained Tuesday by Juruna and Arara tribal authorities in the remote village of Muratu after the company failed to live up to promised mitigation measures aimed at reducing the dam’s devastating impacts … Continue reading Indigenous authorities in Brazil detain three Belo Monte dam engineers→
By Jeff Conant / Climate Connections Over five hundred Indigenous Peoples from Brazil and throughout the world gathered at Kari-Oca II, an encampment seated at the foot of a mountain near Rio Centro, to sign a declaration demanding respect for Indigenous Peoples’ role in maintaining a stable world environment, and condemning the dominant economic approach … Continue reading Five hundred indigenous people sign declaration against dominant economic system→
The struggle for the world’s remaining natural resources is becoming more murderous, according to a new report that reveals that environmental activists were killed at the rate of one a week in 2011. The death toll of campaigners, community leaders and journalists involved in the protection of forests, rivers and land has risen dramatically in … Continue reading Environmental activists being murdered at rate of one a week→
By Amazon Watch While the Brazilian Government prepares to host the Rio+20 United Nations Earth Summit, 3,000 kilometers north in the country’s Amazon region indigenous peoples, farmers, fisherfolk, activists and local residents affected by the construction of the massive Belo Monte Dam project began a symbolic peaceful occupation of the dam site to “free the … Continue reading Three hundred people breach earthen dam, free Xingu River from Belo Monte project→
