A study by the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA, in Portuguese) carried out in partnership with the National Coordination of Quilombo Articulation (Conaq, in Portuguese) revealed that 98.2% of Brazil's Quilombola territories are threatened by infrastructure works, mining requests or private properties that overlap with the boundaries of the areas occupied by traditional peoples.
According to the analysis released on Thursday (16), the environmental impacts on Quilombolas include deforestation, forest degradation and fires. The consequences are the unfeasibility of traditional ways of life in these territories, with human rights violations and a lack of socio-economic opportunities.
Another impact ISA and Conaq identified is the deterioration of water resources caused by mining and farming on the borders of the territories, activities facilitated by the construction of roads and highways.
“Studies show that infrastructure works and other agricultural and mining projects are planned, implemented and measured according to sectoral expectations and macroeconomic targets, but disconnected from real local social demands,” the study points out.
The research identified three main pressure factors against Quilombolas:
Infrastructure works
Midwest region: 57% of the total quilombola area in the macro-region is impacted
North region: 55%
Northeast and South region: 34%
Southeast region: 16%
The most pressured territory is Kalunga do Mimoso Quilombo, in the state of Tocantins, which has 100% of its area overlapped by three projects: a highway, a railroad and a hydroelectric power plant.
Mining requests
A total of 1,385 mining requests put pressure on 781,000 hectares of Quilombola territory.
Midwest region: 35% of the total quilombola area in the macro-region is being affected
South region: 25%
Southeast region: 21%
North region: 16%
Northeast region t: 14%
The most pressured territory is Kalunga, in the state of Goiás, with 180 mining requests overlapping 66% of the Quilombola area.
Rural Environmental Registry (CAR, in Portuguese)
More than 15,000 of the registries of private rural properties, such as farms, were identified as overlapping Quilombola territories.
South region: 73% of the area of Quilombola territories is pressured by private rural properties
Midwest region: 71%
Southeast region: 64%
North region: 19%
The most pressured territory is Erepecuru, in the state of Pará, with 95% of its area overlapping with rural properties
Prior consultation is one of the rights of Quilombolas
“The conclusions of the study show that almost all quilombos in Brazil are affected by some vector of pressure, highlighting the violation of the territorial rights of Quilombola communities,” said Antonio Oviedo, the ISA researcher heading the study.
For Oviedo, it is necessary to immediately cancel the registration of rural properties and mining requests that affect quilombos, “as well as to consult the community beforehand on any work or project that could degrade the territory or compromise the residents' way of life”, he said.
Quilombos: freedom and resistance during slavery
Quilombolas are the descendants and remnants of communities formed by escaped enslaved people, known as quilombos, which have been formed since the colonial period in Brazil.
In the Quilombola territories, the Black population lived in freedom and resisted enslavement - which is why they were persecuted and killed by landlords.
Today, quilombos total 3.8 million hectares, equivalent to 0.5% of Brazil's land area. Of this total, 3.4 million hectares are made up of preserved native vegetation.
According to the Brazilian project MapBiomas, in the last 40 years, Quilombola territories have lost only 4.7% of their native vegetation, while private areas have lost 17%.
Dumping pesticides in a quilombo in the state of Pará
In March, Brasil de Fato showed a case that exemplifies the conclusions of the research. Quilombolas from the Marajó archipelago, in the state of Pará, were victims of pesticide dumping by Joabe Marques, a rice producer from the region who denied the crime and claimed he was being persecuted.
“We're asking authorities, for God's sake, to stop siding with this man [Joabe] and help us. We have nowhere else to run,” asked a Quilombola woman, in an anonymous report published by Conaq.
The spraying of poison in the Providência quilombo, in the municipality of Salvaterra, Pará, contaminated several residents, who reported coughing, vomiting and dizziness. An important community leader was poisoned and had to be hospitalized.
Edited by: Thalita Pires
