Massive illegal forest clearance threatens uncontacted tribe

Massive illegal forest clearance threatens unique uncontacted tribe

Brazilian rancher Marcelo Bastos Ferraz has rejected the Ayoreo's plea to stop destroying the forest inhabited by their uncontacted relatives.
© OPIT

The last uncontacted Indians outside Amazonia are running out of forest to hide in, say campaigners, as alarming new photos reveal rampant, illegal destruction of their territory.

Ayoreo-Totobiegosode Indians, whose uncontacted relatives are hiding in the last patches of forest in western Paraguay, have watched helplessly as cattle-ranching firms illegally invade their territory and raze the forest.

The Paraguayan government has ignored their pleas to intervene.

Guiejna, an Ayoreo woman, on the day she was first contacted in 2004. Her relatives are still hiding in the forest.
© GAT/ Survival

Satellite photos show that two firms, Yaguarete Porá S.A. and Itapoti S.A., are defying national and international laws in a race to clear as much forest as possible. Yaguarete is owned by Brazilian rancher Marcelo Bastos Ferraz, who earlier this year rebuffed a Totobiegosode appeal to stop destroying their forest.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is investigating the Ayoreo’s plight, and recently met government ministers to question them on why the Totobiegosode’s land claim, submitted in 1993, has still not been resolved.

Western Paraguay, until recently covered in forest, now has the highest deforestation ratein the world.

The Ayoreo have recently discovered miles of cattle fences illegally built in their territory – in Paraguay, this is always the first step to clearing the forest.
© GAT/ Survival

Stephen Corry, Director of Survival International, the global movement for tribal peoples’ rights, said today, “The uncontacted Ayoreo-Totobiegosode face catastrophe unless their land is protected. They are one of the most vulnerable societies on the planet. It’s shameful that the Paraguayan authorities are simply letting these ranchers carry on clearing the forest, knowing that this is the Totobiegosode’s last refuge. Unless public opinion forces them to act, the Indians have no future.”

Read this online: http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/10554

Survival International is the global movement for tribal peoples’ rights. We help tribal people defend their lives, protect their lands and determine their own futures. Founded in 1969, Survival celebrates its 45th Anniversary this year.

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