Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has decided to extend the BR-364 highway and divide Serra do Divisor, one of the country's richest and most beautiful national parks, in two. This decision not only has an environmental impact but also violates the rights of three local Indigenous peoples. It is a political and geographical move that echoes the same pattern sought in the 1970s with the BR-163.
FOR BOLSONARO, THE BENEFIT OF THE MOTORWAY EXCEEDS THE VALUE OF BRAZIL’S NATIONAL PARK
The project consists of extending a motorway that runs for more than 4,000 kilometres from São Paulo to the Amazonian state of Acre, alongside an additional 130 km to connect the city of Cruzeiro does Sul with the neighbouring Peruvian city of Pucallpa. The road will link the two countries through the Amazon rainforest, and, thanks to the connection, Brazil will gain access to the coast of the Andean country. This will make it easier for maritime trade to reach the rich Asian market, rather than travelling up the Panama Canal or through the Cape of Good Hope. The economic interest enjoyed by both countries is welcomed by the Peruvian government, despite violating Peruvian-signed international agreements on global warming and environmental protection.
What is the price paid for building the BR-364? A grey strip enters the forest, splitting it in two, cutting down its trees, plants, and lush vegetation, depleting an environment rich in biodiversity that is known as the green lung of our planet. The Serra do Divisor National Park is a protected area of 846,633 hectares, home to more than 130 different mammal species and over 400 species of birds. The area is considered by nature conservation organizations to be one of the most biodiverse in the entire Amazon rainforest.
For Bolsonaro, the road is a means of favouring the local economy by creating a transportation network for agricultural products. Supporters of the project, such as Mara Rocha, a centre-right congresswoman from the state of Acre, say that ‘'it will not destroy the forest, it will bring important development, it will revive commercial and cultural relations with our neighbour. The region felt forgotten and invisible to the rest of the country. Leaving it in this state would be a serious form of selfishness that we have defeated”.
The motorway is one of three major infrastructure projects located in Parà, intending to conquer Amazonian territory: the hydroelectric dam in Oriximiná, the bridge over the Amazon in the municipality of Óbidos, and the extension of the BR-163 motorway in Suriname. Thanks to these infrastructure projects, the vast and rich territory of the rainforest has opened to big business. The main purpose of the construction of the transoceanic highway, which began in the 1970s during the dictatorial era, is to connect the city of Santarem with the Surinamese border, providing for the transport of soya from the centre-west of the country. The BR-163 crosses an area known for agrarian conflict between landowners, local communities, and landless peasants. Moreover, its construction was necessary to defend the border with Suriname, a country that receives significant investment from China, who in turn promotes a mass emigration business strategy.
The Brazilian NGO SOS Amazonia says: “this project is very reminiscent of the policy of systematic deforestation under the military junta in the 1960s and 1980s. This policy was also carried out in the name of the economic development of the region, the same mantra repeated by Bolsonaro for every project concerning the Amazon”. Environmentalists and Indigenous communities similarly point out that there is already an open road with Peru and that the BR-364 project is dangerous and harmful in terms of its environmental impact. Since President Bolsonaro took office in January 2019, the rate of deforestation has increased by 70%. Brazil's Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) has made public the data inherent to deforestation in the Amazon and, according to the Prodes system, the official rate for 2020 is 11,088 km2, an increase of 9.5% compared to 2019.
BOLSONARO’S POLICIES ONCE AGAIN THREATEN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
The new highway not only threatens the flora and fauna of the national park, but also three Indigenous tribes of the Amazon: Nukini, Jaminawa, and Popyanawa. Bolsonaro's policies have already created tensions with Indigenous peoples, as according to the Brazilian president, the Indigenous territories are too vast for the number of people living there. He immediately pledged to revoke the status of protected areas by giving the green light to commercial agriculture and mineral extraction in other areas such as the Yanomami territory (one of the largest reserves in the Amazon). In response, the natives have organized protests and complaints to protect their already diminished lands. "The government in power today is trying to exterminate the indigenous peoples, but we are warrior peoples," said Cacique Dara, one of the Indigenous leaders. "We are not interested in wealth. What matters is nature”.
It should also be remembered that in addition to the national and local agreements made over 500 years of struggle between the 'white man' and the native peoples, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted in 2007. Among the rights recognized and not respected by President Bolsonaro, we find articles 3, 10, and 26 paragraph 2 which states: "Indigenous Peoples have the right to political, economic, social, and cultural self-determination; they may not be forcibly displaced from their lands or territories, subject to the prior and informed consent of the Indigenous peoples in question; indigenous peoples have the right to ownership, use, development, and control of the lands and territories and the resources they possess".
The consent required has never been forthcoming from the peoples in question, who have once again seen their territories destroyed and their rivers and land contaminated. Local Indigenous leader Luís Puwe Puyanawa says: "the road should pass about one kilometre from our lands. One of my biggest concerns is that this stretch is home to some of the most important water sources in the Amazon basin. The Alto Juruá provides all the water that flows into the Rio Solimões and then into the Rio Negro, all the way to the sea. All these rivers could be affected, and this could cause the disappearance of important sources in the Amazon”.
The policies pursued by Brazil, alongside other South American states, aimed at economic development whilst being non-compliant with the treaties signed by natives should concern those who are fighting for nature conservation and against climate change
Giulia graduated in Communications and is a student in Human Rights and Multi-level Governance. She works for a trade union for workers' rights. She is an activist for the rights of indigenous peoples, for the rights of prisoners, and the rights of women. She is the co-founder of Labiba, an editorial project about Palestine.