The Aftermath of the Roraima Fires that Threatened the Yanomani
7/20/98
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: The Aftermath of the Roraima Fires that Threatened the Yanomani
Source: CCPY
Rua Manoel da N›brega 111, cj. 32, 04001-900 Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
Status: Distribute freely with proper credit to source
Date: 7/20/98
CCPY UPDATE 99 MAY 1998
THE AFTERMATH OF THE FIRES: PROVIDING THE RIGHT SORT OF HELP
News of the fires which raged through Roraima and threatened the Yanomami made
headlines around the world: while firemen from Argentina were quickly on
the scene
and the UN repeatedly offered expert help, the Brazilian government lost
precious time
before it took the fires seriously, and it was only the providential early
onset of
rain over Roraima that put them out at the beginning of April.
The threat to the Yanomami sparked off a worldwide wave of sympathy and offers
of help
and suggestions have poured into CCPY.
The fires are now out and the clouds of smoke have disappeared.
The immediate danger is over, but the consequences of the forest fires and the
exceptionally severe drought that led to them have to be addressed. More
accurate
evaluations of the destruction caused are now possible.
CCPY feels it is vital that the understandable rush to provide instant relief
for the
Yanomami does not lead to indiscriminate solutions that encourage dependency.
THE FOOD SOLUTION
The government has begun distributing food parcels to the small farmers who lost
their
crops and to the Makuxi and other indigenous groups who live in the savannah
area. The UN
Emergency Relief team and other organisations are recommending food relief. But
while
this is definitely a solution for some, food parcels are NOT the right solution
for most
of the Yanomami, except when they are too sick to be self-sufficient.
The Yanomami traditionally practise subsistence agriculture and rely on staples
like
bananas and cassava, as well as harvesting many fruits from the forest. They
supplement
this diet with hunting and fishing. When food shortage occurs due to a late
harvest or
seasonal drought the Yanomami track for weeks in the forest living entirely on
forest
products. This year's climate conditions were exceptionally harsh. The Yanomami
faced an
unusually distressing situation, especially in regions where garimpeiros,
hunters or
illegal settlers had already depleted the forest. Sick Yanomami from these
regions are
being supplied with food obtained from the European Union by the British NGO,
Oxfam.
In the late 1980s the invasion of thousands of garimpeiros who began giving
handouts of
food to buy the indian's goodwill, made many of them dependent on non-
traditional
foodstuffs, abandoning their gardens and normal food collecting practices.
If food parcels were now to be handed out indiscriminately, this would be
repeating the
damaging process begun by the garimpeiros, running the danger of turning the
Yanomami
into a dependent, and therefore even more vulnerable people. In CCPY's
evaluation it
would be a short-term solution that in the long term could spell disaster.
THE AMOUNT OF FIRE DAMAGE
During the fires, estimates of the areas destroyed varied wildly: INPA (the
National
Amazon Research Institute) now estimates that a total of 17,000 sq. km of intact
rainforest was affected by the fires and the amount of forest actually burnt was
9,254
sq. km.
While the amount of Yanomami land destroyed by fire is much smaller than at
first
feared, the consequences for the Yanomami of the fires, and the drought which
created the
conditions for them, are serious.
CONSEQUENCES
1) INCREASE OF MALARIA:
Weeks of thick smoke clouds, covering a radius of 300 km from Boa Vista, made
flying
conditions hazardous and often impossible for small aircraft. Health workers
were unable
to get to Yanomami villages where malaria was rife, in addition to respiratory
problems,
eye infections and emotional stress.
2) LACK OF FOOD: in some villages vegetable patches and fruit trees were
destroyed:
the smoke and flames killed many animals. The drought has dried up rivers,
killing
fish.
CCPY ACTIONS
On 1st April in Brasilia CCPY coordinator Claudia Andujar, CCPY adviser,
anthropologist
Bruce Albert, Marcio Santilli of ISA, Davi Kopenawa and 2 other Yanomami
leaders, and
Makuxi and Wapixana representatives met the Secretary of Regional Policies,
Fernando
Catao, representatives from the Ministry of the Environment and IBAMA to ask for
a series
of measures to alleviate the situation of the indigenous groups in Roraima.
They were accompanied by Ivan Soares Farias, anthropologist of the FNS in
Roraima, who
brought a report describing the seriousness of the malaria epidemic among the
Yanomami.
The Secretary (who has since resigned) did not have immediate solutions to their
proposals, which were as follows:
For the Yanomami area these were:
1. The removal and definite control of garimpeiro invasions (responsible for
the
constant re-introduction of malaria).
2. The re-demarcation of the western frontier of the Yanomami reserve, where
the
disappearance of border marks and the trail that connected them has encouraged
small
farmers to advance into the Yanomami area.
3. Removal of ranchers and squatters from the Repartimento River region.
4. Immediate dismissal of a FUNAI employee who killed a Yanomami in Ajarani
II, four
years ago.
5. Control of illegal hunting along the Yanomami periphery, especially in the
colonization projects like that in the Apiau River region.
6. Suspension of roadbuilding and installation of settlements in the forest
bordering
the Yanomami area.
For all indigenous areas the proposals were:
1. More control by IBAMA (government environment agency) over illegal hunting
and
fishing in indigenous areas
2. Funds for recovery of areas burnt by recent fires and areas degraded by
mining,
forest clearing, etc
3. Availability of maps with the satellite images taken by INPE (National
Space
Research Institute) of indigenous reserves in Roraima and Amazonas.
4. Setting up by the State of Roraima, of a Civil Defence system with special
training in the protection of environmental conservation and indigenous areas.
5. Training of indians themselves in the control of natural resources and the
environment in general in indigenous areas.
The group expressed concern about the malaria situation and asked for urgent
action to
control the epidemic.
THE MALARIA SITUATION
Secretary Catao (who has since resigned) at first suggested sending in military
medical
teams to deal with the malaria emergency, a solution which the FNS did not
agree with.
Instead the FNS produced their own anti-malaria emergency plan and vital
supplies of
Mefloquina, a drug used to treat malarial victims, were provided for the health
posts,
although it is still not available on a more general scale in Roraima.
FNS reports 1445 cases of malaria in the Yanomami area in the first quarter of
1998, a
rate of 1406 per 1000 inhabitants.
Almost half (49%) were the most serious kind, falciparum.
The worst hit areas are Auaris, Xitei, Parafuri and Paapiu, where the
incidence is over
200 per 1000, or 1 out of every 5 indians.
There over 50% are falciparum, with the highest number of cases amongst
children under
four years.
GENERAL HEALTH SITUATION
For Edgard Dias Magalhaes, former coordinator of the FNS Yanomami Health
Programme
(DSY) the fires have had the following impact on the health situation of the
indigenous
populations in Roraima:
£ an increase of malaria in forest areas,
£ a reduction of the quantity and quality of food, favouring
subnutrition and an increase in diseases
£ a worsening of the water quality
£ a loss of producing and planted gardens leading to hunger
£ a loss of purchasing power because of the destruction of commercial
products
(banana, cassava, flour)
£ deaths of domestic and wild animals
The DSY runs 24 health posts, each linked to between 1 to 15 Yanomami villages.
Nine are
run by NGOs including the CCPY, 2 by FUNAI and 13 by the FNS.
UN TEAM REPORT
A seven-person team from UNDAC, the United Nations Disaster Assessment and
Coordination,
spent a week in Roraima assessing relief requirements as a result of the fires.
They
found that a total of 12,000 people had been directly affected, with 7000 in
need of food
and water.
As well as livestock, electric power posts, wells, bridges schools and health
centres had
been damaged.
They concluded that food supplies, malarial medicines, seeds, tools, and the
opening of
72 wells were the immediate needs.
For the longer term they proposed an environmental assessment to evaluate
damage, the
acquisition of permanent satellite tracking antennae for receiving local data
for fire
monitoring, and the enforcement of fire bans.
GOVERNMENT PLANS
Environment Minister Gustavo Krause, who was criticised in the press for not
going to
Roraima when the fires were raging, said that initial estimates showed they
had caused
about US$15 million worth of damage to farm and grazing lands.
President Cardoso has authorised the creation of a rapid-deployment task force
to prevent
and fight fires. Personnel would be specially trained and equipment acquired.
INTERNATIONAL HELP FOR THE YANOMAMI
Many international organisations have rallied round with practical offers of
help to the
Yanomami through CCPY.
Oxfam sent a mission to Roraima to evaluate the situation of the indigenous
people at
the invitation of CIR, Roraima's Indian Council. Their help to the Yanomami
will be in
the form of mefloquina for malaria victims, snakebite serum and food relief for
emergency cases.
The French NGO France Libert,s/Fondation Daniele Mitterrand is considering an
emergency
supply of medicines through CCPY. MSF Holland will extend medical support to 10
health
posts of DSY. Oxfam, France Libert,s and MSF Holland are being funded through
the
European Union emergency funds (ECHO 3). The British Embassy is considering
constructing
a well in Parawa œ, one of the health posts run by CCPY.
In addition CCPY wishes to thank all those who have made contact with us,
offering
suggestions and practical help.
IRRESPONSIBLE COLONIZATION BLAMED FOR DISASTER
ISA's Marcio Santilli, ex-FUNAI president, concluded that while the climate
changes
provoked by El Nino have been blamed for the drought, "the savage process of
colonization" could be a bigger villain. "Irresponsible politicians encourage
the
disorderly migrations of contingents of miserable people, mostly from Maranhao,
to
Roraima".
On arrival they become captive voters of these politicians. It is the same
process which
brought the garimpeiros (goldminers) to Roraima. The migrants become poor
farmers in
settlements located in forest regions, deforesting around the edges of
indigenous areas
and ecological reserves. They clear the forest, supplying local sawmills, but
without
proper assistance, fail to make a go of farming and sell up their land to
ranchers.
"Disputes between different political factions for control of the state agencies
in
charge of land distribution has worsened the situation.... This chaotic policy
has led
to land conflicts in a state that has less than 300,000 inhabitants for an area
of
225,000 sq. km. Even after deducting the 55% claimed by the state's indigenous
population, Roraima still has one of the lowest population densities in Brazil
and the
world. Yet local politicians oppose the demarcation of indigenous areas".
Santilli says that these same politicians are now fighting to control the
emergency funds
provided by the federal government for their own electoral ends.
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH SAY CARBON EMISSIONS UP
The environmental organisation Friends of the Earth calculated that the Roraima
fires
released 125 million metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere. They claimed
this is
equivalent to all the carbon emissions released in Sao Paulo, a city of 10
million
people, in ten years.
GARIMPEIROS
The fires pushed the garimpeiro question into the background, but reports from
Roraima
say that many remained in the Yanomami area when the government's removal
operation ended
in January.
CCPY raised the question during an audience with the Federal Secretary for Human
Rights,
Jos, Gregori in April. Since then we have heard that the operation will be re-
initiated
soon.
Much of the spending on malaria would be saved if the operation to remove and
keep
garimpeiros out of the Yanomami area was maintained permanently.
The CCPY is a Brazilian, independent, and non-profitmaking organisation. Its
main aims
are to support and defend the life, the rights, the culture and the land of the
Yanomami
people. HQ: Rua Manoel da N›brega 111, cj. 32, 04001-900 Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil