Brazil's raging forest fires threaten indigenous land, uncontacted tribes
Brazil's raging forest fires threaten indigenous land, uncontacted tribes
Wed Sep 21, 2016 | 1:20pm EDT
RIO DE JANEIRO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Forest fires raging in northeast Brazil are forcing indigenous people out of their traditional territories and threatening uncontacted tribes, an indigenous leader said on Wednesday.
Fire season in the Amazon and surrounding savannah normally lasts from July to November, but burning has become more intense due to climate change and illegal logging, said Sonia Guajajara, National Coordinator of the Association of Indigenous Peoples.
Uncontacted members of the Awa tribe live in areas affected by fires, and some have been forced out of the jungle, Guajajara told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"The Awa people live in isolation but they are coming out of the forests much more frequently," said Guajajara, who hails from the fire-hit region in northeastern Maranhao state.
More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-landrights-environment-idUSKCN11R2B5
LBN:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141578403
(Sounds as if the agricultural/industrial interests have decided to burn them out of their ancestral home.)
