Preserved indigenous territories avoid CO2 emissions equivalent to that of millions of cars
É como que se fossem retirados de circulação, entre 9 e 12,6 milhões de veículos por um ano
By Izabella Mota, for NINJA Collaborative Coverage at COP26
Preserved indigenous territories avoid CO2 emissions equivalent to that of millions of cars
Targets of invaders, the indigenous people resist daily, to protect the forest (Raissa Azeredo / Mídia NINJA)
By Izabella Mota, for NINJA Collaborative Coverage at COP26
The knowledge and traditional ways of life of indigenous people reveal to us how to have a harmonious relationship with the land. Known as guardians of the forest, they fight daily for the environment in which they live and also for their lives, since their territories are the target of covetousness of invaders for the richness of natural resources and are, therefore, constantly threatened.
That is, to protect nature, they still have to resist. A recently released UN report for the FAO proves that deforestation rates in indigenous territories (IT) in the Bolivian, Brazilian and Colombian Amazon are between 50% and 67% lower compared to other non-indigenous areas.
The territories with recognized legal titles have avoided CO2 emissions considerably: it would be like removing 9 to 12.6 million vehicles from circulation for one year. To get an idea, data from the Vehicle Emission Report of the Environmental Company of the State of São Paulo (Cetesb), indicates that the metropolitan region of São Paulo has approximately 7 million vehicles.
Anti-Indigenous Agenda
Many Brazilian people will be represented at COP-26. They will take to the world a scream for help, denouncing the ecocide and genocide engendered by the Bolsonaro government, which at every moment insists on defending projects that aim to exploration of their lands to benefit the agribusiness sector.
The threat to territories already consolidated and the absence of demarcations policy is also a problem. Since Bolsonaro took office, there has not even been one demarcation. There were also had difficulty in renovating lands occupied by isolated peoples.
Harmony
Besides agricultural methods, the sustainable way of life of indigenous peoples is offered to the cosmovision that includes nature not as an object to be exploited, but Nature as a subject. Kaká Werá Jecupé, a writer and environmentalist of the Tapuia people, comments in his book, “The Land of the Thousand Peoples”, that indigenous peoples are much more than ethnic groups: (…) “they are the living memory of the time when the being walked with the forest, the rivers and the stars.”
It is common that natural resources are also treated as relatives. The relationship of affection and consciousness of dependence makes it possible to protect nature in their territories. “We believe very much in a being that exists in the underground and that all the wealth that exists there serves to equilibrate nature, so for us this resource can’t be messed with, it has a reason to be there.” says Marco Dunu Mayuruna, from the São Meireles village, in the book Cercos e Resistências.
Not to ally with the indigenous struggle is to accept the ethnocide, genocide and ecocide, taking a quick step toward our own extinction.
Translated by Fatima Ventura
