In Altamira National Forest Park near the BR-163 road, cattle pass through a forest that has just been burnt down. Novo Porogoleso along this highway is one of the towns with the highest deforestation rate in Brazil. Opening up grazing areas for cattle is one of the reasons for deforestation in the Amazonas in Brazil
Warriors from the Hicklin tribe arrived in Lapuko Village after patrolling the jungle. Indigenous tribes organized their own patrols to defend their territories, drive away illegal invaders, and combat deforestation
The Amazon Rainforest is known as the "Lung of the Earth". It absorbs a large amount of carbon dioxide and converts it into about 20% of the earth's oxygen. It is also the most biologically diverse area on earth, with about 3 million species of plants and animals inhabiting here. Three-fifths of this precious natural habitat is in Brazil. However, just as countries all over the world pay more attention to the threat of climate change, the development of natural resources in the Amazon region continues unabated.
Since the current Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro took the oath of office in January 2019, he has supported the development of the rainforest economy, encouraging a large number of illegal loggers to overcut the Amazon forest, and farmers at the edge of the forest have expanded their arable land through slash and burn. area. Bolsonaro transferred the control of the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs to the Ministry of Agriculture, which gave the development of agribusiness enterprises a clear advantage over the survival of local indigenous tribes.
The Bolsonaro government has always advocated opening rainforest reserves to mining and agribusiness companies, believing that this can help the locals get rid of poverty. However, although 9 of the 10 cities with the lowest development index in Brazil are located in the Amazon region, the funds generated by mining and logging are ultimately used for local construction.
Bolsonaro did not let Brazil's environmental protection agency continue to monitor illegal logging in the Amazon region. Instead, he sent 2,500 soldiers from the national army to the region to enforce the law. Environmental organizations believe that this move is just a decoration.
After participating in protests against the construction of the Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu River, the Mondurucu Indians lined up at the Altamira Airport to board the plane and return. The Mondurucu people live on the Tapajós River, and the government has planned to build new hydropower projects there
A bird's eye view of the Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu River under construction. More than 80% of Xingu River's water is drawn from its natural river course, which will have an immeasurable impact on aquatic animals and the lifestyle of local residents. Despite strong opposition from local indigenous peoples, environmentalists and NGOs, the dam was completed in 2019
In Lilidade Village, foreign settlers build houses on a piece of newly felled land beside the BR-319 highway. The BR-319 road with a total length of 870 kilometers connects Manaus in the Amazon rainforest and Porto Velho in Rondônia. Although the road is broken and impassable due to the long rainy season, it can barely drive in the dry season, but it may degrade the original rain forest area. Land grabbing and illegal logging
As early as 2019, Bolsonaro met with protests from all over the world for denying that the Amazon rain forest fires have surged. At the same time, after the Brazilian National Institute of Space Research (INPE) released unfavorable data on Amazonian deforestation, the Bolsonaro government accused scientists of lying about the data and fired Ricardo Galvão, the head of the institute.
In July 2021, the Amazonian Science Group, composed of about 200 scientists around the world, issued a warning that over-exploitation and deforestation are putting more than 8,000 species of endemic plants and 2,300 species of animals in the Amazon rainforest at a high risk of extinction. A climate science study published in the British journal Nature on July 14 pointed out that deforestation and regional climate change may threaten the buffering potential of atmospheric carbon in the Amazon rainforest. The study found that carbon emissions in some areas exceed carbon absorption.
On the campsite on the banks of the Machi River, aboriginal women and children of the Pirahán tribe watched an ox cart passing by the nearby Trans-Amazon highway
On the Trans-Amazon Highway, a truck driven by a minor was seized, loaded with timber illegally mined from aboriginal land
Members of the Brazilian Special Inspection Group (GEF) are destroying a brick furnace used to make charcoal in an illegal sawmill. The wood used by this sawmill is illegally mined from the land of the indigenous people of Alto Turia
According to the latest data released by the Amazonian Institute of Human and Environmental Studies (Imazon) in Brazil, between August 2020 and July 2021, the Amazon rainforest has lost 10,476 square kilometers of vegetation, which is also the largest damage to the Amazon rainforest in the past 10 years.
The then Minister of the Environment of Brazil, Ricardo Salles, stated in April 2021 that Brazil needs US$10 billion in foreign aid each year to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050; only US$1 billion is needed each year to be able to achieve carbon neutrality. Let Brazil eliminate illegal deforestation before the current 2030 goals are achieved. A month later, Salles was investigated by the police for his involvement in illegal log export and resigned.
Nascimento, a resident of the Alapi Creek Mining Reserve, cut down the trees that blocked the canoe's progress in the stream, preparing to go to another reserve to gather nuts. The purpose of the mining protection area is to provide a sustainable forest development model for the traditional population living here, such as collecting forest products, but outsiders are secretly invading these areas for deforestation
A boy rests on the Xingu River Beach in the early Palatine. This is an aboriginal village near the Belo Monte Dam. After the flood, large swaths of dead trees like bamboo sticks were left around the reservoir.
Workers of the Belo Monte Dam gather on the banks of the city of Altamira. On the last weekend of the month, after the workers were paid, Altamira became a chaotic place. Thousands of drunks try to pursue the few women, causing violent fights from time to time
Altamira’s urban population increased from 100,000 to 140,000 within two years, and prices soared, especially housing and food prices. A man had to move because he couldn't afford the rent
Workers work in a gold mine in northern Mato Grosso State. This is one of Brazil's largest gold producing areas. Since the authorities have not enforced the environmental protection law, mining activities have caused river pollution and soil degradation
A butcher's shop in Verada Resaka. The stray dog stared at the hanging meat. Canada's Belo Sun Mining Company plans to build one of the world's largest open-pit gold mines here. The project is only a few kilometers away from the Belo Monte Dam. This area that is on the verge of being abandoned due to the construction of a hydropower station will usher in new changes
In Altamira, a farmer funded a billboard to support President Bolsonaro
Para state is the most severely deforested state in the Amazon region of Brazil, accounting for 43% of the total deforestation in the region. Large areas of forest were cut down, leaving only a small piece of rainforest surrounded by endless farmland
