Financial Times reports from a Kayapo village

April 18, 2019 — The Kayapo will fiercely defend their Indigenous Territories from any movement by the new Brazilian government to open them up to development, as reported in a compelling story by the Financial Times. The Times visited the Kayapo village of A'Ukre, the community that hosts a field course run by ICFC's Kayapo NGO partners. The article makes clear their motivation:

For the Kayapó, the fate of the rainforest is inextricably linked with their own survival. “The jungle is the source of life,” said Panhba, a young female warrior. “If they cut down the trees now, there won't be air or nuts or fruits or animals left for my children and grandchildren.”

Brazil's Consitition gives the Kayapo control over their ratified territories, which span an area twice the size of Nova Scotia. Government enforcement against illegal goldmining and logging incurions into Kayapo lands has been weak and under-resourced for years; for the next period it is expected to be entirely absent. In response, ICFC and our Kayapo partner NGOs are taking additional surveillance and protection measures, notably by establishing additional guard posts along access routes.