“Every piece of land has our blood”: Pataxó people face violence and abandonment in the far south of Bahia telegram Join our Telegram channel! telegram leaders are calling for help — and justice.  “This land has been ours since before 1500. We are not invading anyone’s property. Every corner of this territory is sacred. It is where our enchanted ones live,” said the Suruí Pataxó chief to the Socioenvironmental Institute (ISA), shortly after his people have been targeted by Operation Pacificar when 150 civil and military police officers from Bahia entered the Barra Velha do Monte Pascoal TI to serve 12 arrest warrants and seven search and seizure warrants after a request from the State Public Defender's Office The remaining four have not yet had their request granted the Civil Police stated that the action sought to dismantle armed groups of “supposed indigenous people” who “under the pretext of acting in the ‘retaking’ of their ancestral territories act with violence and serious threats against workers and rural landowners”.  There are several of our people with arrest warrants That we took the land to steal things from the ruralists,” he explains “But the story is different: we are not invading anyone’s property which is ancestral land of the Pataxó community,” says the chief “The public and political agents involved in this operation must be investigated and held accountable; including for their failure to observe and respect our rights As well as for the violations against the rights of children and the most vulnerable people victims of the violence we are suffering,” reads an excerpt from the letter the Pataxó are back in Brasília to participate in the 21st Free Land Camp (ATL) and denounce the violence that afflicts them “Let’s dance Pataxó / For the relative who died / We thank father Tupã / For the view he gave us,” they sang as they occupied the main tent of the camp that began on Monday (07/04) was eagerly awaited by the Pataxó delegation that went to Brasília — but it ended in frustration and revolt to ask the government to do what the Constitution requires And we left there with more pain,” says indigenous leader Uruba Pataxó the meeting with the minister was marked by a lack of listening The leader says that the minister arrived late stayed for a short time and seemed more concerned with another commitment he had after the meeting than with the murders and conflicts reported by the Pataxó “He said he could only stay for 30 minutes because he had an appointment He went straight to saying that he couldn’t sign the demarcation that it could end up in court,” said Uruba This Tuesday (08/04), the 6th Chamber of the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) released a technical note recommending that the ministry led by Lewandowski immediately sign the declaratory orders for three Indigenous Lands in the South of Bahia including Barra Velha do Monte Pascoal and two others belonging to the Tupinambá people Violence against the Pataxó was also the subject of a meeting of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) in addition to recommending the declaration of the area by the MJSP indicated the deployment of the National Force to the region at the March meeting the minister justified the government's inertia in advancing the demarcation process by stating that the invaders of Indigenous Lands are very influential people with great economic power capable of hiring the best lawyers to reverse any administrative act “I told him that our land is bathed in blood and that what should rule Brazil is the Constitution The Barra Velha Indigenous Territory was administratively demarcated in 1981 and ratified in 1991 with an area of ​​just 8.627 hectares — where eight villages are currently concentrated the Pataxó have claimed that the area does not correspond to the entirety of their traditional territory According to anthropologist José Augusto Sampaio this first demarcation did not respect legal criteria nor did it take into account the history and territoriality of the Pataxó Brazil was still under a military dictatorship and the process was led by two agencies linked to the regime: the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI) and the now-defunct Brazilian Institute for Forestry Development (IBDF) “The delimitation was decided by Funai and the IBDF it does not meet the constitutional requirements of what constitutes Indigenous Lands The area was defined for administrative convenience not based on technical or historical criteria who is a professor at the State University of Bahia (Uneb) and president of the board of directors of the National Association for Indigenous Action (Anaí) Signed in 1980, this agreement between federal agencies involved the overlapping of Barra Velha by Monte Pascoal National Park — created in 1961 when the Pataxó were restricted to an area of ​​just 210 hectares Everything was done without respecting the rights of indigenous peoples as if they were dealing with common squatters,” explains Sampaio According to an article by anthropologist Sheila Brasileiro published by ISA in 2004 the attempt to regularize the Barra Velha Indigenous Land contravening the indigenous legislation of the time and resulting in half of the territory traditionally occupied by the Pataxó – already identified by researchers from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) – being ceded to the National Park The Pataxó were left with a land of sandy marshes around Monte Pascoal and a long history of disputes with environmental agencies.  Remember: The Pataxó and Monte Pascoal “Indigenous people suffered many forms of violence at the hands of IBDF employees These violations have left their mark on generations,” explains Milene Maia Oberlaender coordinator of the ISA Socio-Environmental Policy and Law Program.  who worked for eight years as manager of the Monte Pascoal National Park says that families were prevented from harvesting their own crops which led to hunger among a large part of the Pataxó population “They were forced to collect food at night so that they would not be ‘caught’ by the inspectors; they felt like thieves in their own home These psychological attacks still scar the Pataxó today,” she explains It was only after the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution which explicitly recognized the original rights of indigenous peoples over their traditional territories with the support of the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) and the university the process of regularizing their true land with the Pataxó retaking the Monte Pascoal National Park and actions by the MPF Funai finally began the technical studies necessary to repair past deeds and correct the boundaries of the Barra Velha Indigenous Territory.  The work was completed in 2008, resulting in the identification of the Barra Velha do Monte Pascoal IT, an area of ​​52.748 hectares, distributed across the municipalities of Itabela, Itamaraju, Prado and Porto Seguro. technical report confirmed that the area corresponds to the territory of traditional occupation of the Pataxó encompassing and significantly expanding the limits of the portion of land demarcated in 1991 Approved and published by the presidency of Funai the identification and delimitation report was sent to the Ministry of Justice for the issuance of the declaratory ordinance — but it got stuck there due to the change in political stance in the Temer and Bolsonaro governments regarding the demarcation of Indigenous Lands the Pataxó have once again put pressure on the process The process reached the Ministry of Justice in November 2023 after being approved by the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI) In 2024, a decision of the Federal Court determined that Funai and the Federal Government complete the procedures for reviewing the boundaries and demarcating the Barra Velha do Monte Pascoal TI within two years no concrete measures have been taken to date “This land has been on the minister’s desk for over a year He just keeps stalling,” concludes Sampaio The land is ours and we are already occupying it The State needs to do what the Constitution requires,” says Chief Suruí “They took our relatives away with bullets Both lived in a village on Fazenda Condessa a rural property located within the boundaries of the same TI was killed with a shot to the back of the head during an attack in the same territory.  The Comexatiba IT, also known as Cahy-Pequi, is a territory traditionally occupied by the Pataxó that faces the same logic of exclusion and racism: deforestation, illegal subdivision and the State's failure to finalize the demarcation. Learn more.  There are constant reports of armed sieges imposed by gunmen, which include burning houses and intimidation against women. The land also overlaps with a Conservation Unit, the Discovery National Park.  These murders are part of an even larger number. A document addressed to Lewandowski by Deputy Attorney General Eliana Peres Torelly de Carvalho, obtained by Sumaúma 74 Pataxó people have been murdered in the extreme south of Bahia Only then will these conflicts cease,” emphasizes Suruí Faced with the historical omission of the Brazilian State and the escalation of violence suffered in the territories, the Pataxó leaders turned to the international sphere. In March 2025, the Council of Chiefs of the Barra Velha do Monte Pascoal Indigenous Land submitted to the United Nations (UN) a complete dossier denouncing murders connivance of local authorities and the halt in land demarcation the repression of Pataxó self-demarcations is not a coincidence but the result of actions orchestrated by groups with a strong economic interest in maintaining illegal possession of the lands Among the main actors opposing the demarcation of Pataxó lands are farmers land grabbers and militiamen who work in collusion to prevent the advancement of self-demarcation indigenous leaders are constantly threatened by representatives of local agribusiness and by gunmen hired to intimidate and attack the communities.  The document points out that sectors of the State — including public servants representatives of the judicial system and bodies protecting indigenous peoples — have been silent or even actively acting against indigenous peoples favoring private interests under the guise of legality armed militias linked to drug trafficking have consolidated a parallel power structure in the most vulnerable areas of the territory These groups impose fear through aggression and attempt to control the daily life of the villages including interfering in the cultural and spiritual life of the Pataxó and many families live in a constant state of alert,” Uruba denounces The document demands that the federal government be held accountable and asks for international support to ensure the protection of the leaders and the completion of the demarcation process “We are tired of asking the government for help The UN was the last way we found to say: they are killing our people remains in the hands of the farmers,” Uruba Pataxó complained The most relevant news for you to form your opinion on the socio-environmental agenda LAST ISSUE The escalation of violence in Brazil’s northeastern region with the murders of two young Pataxó Indigenous leaders this week triggered the newly created Ministry of Indigenous Peoples to set up a crisis office to monitor land conflicts in the region 17-year-old Nawir Brito de Jesus and 25-year-old Samuel Cristiano do Amor Divino were shot dead in the district of São João do Monte between the towns of Itabela and Itamaraju “It is unacceptable that Indigenous people continue to be persecuted and threatened within their own territories. This crime cannot go unpunished,” Minister of Indigenous Peoples Sonia Guajajara said in a news release. She said the ministry will work with the Ministry of Justice and other entities including the country’s Indigenous affairs agency the Federal Public Ministry and authorities in Bahia “to guarantee the rigorous investigation and punishment of the criminals the protection of the Pataxó people.” The crimes occurred when the two Indigenous leaders were returning on a motorcycle to the Condessa farm, a resettlement established earlier in the month amid ownership disputes in the region, the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI), an advocacy group affiliated with the Catholic Church, said in a news release is located within the limits of the Barra Velha Indigenous Territory an area recognized in 2008 as being traditionally occupied by the Pataxó people but has awaited full demarcation since then In September, Gustavo Silva da Conceição, a 14-year-old Pataxó boy, was killed and another Pataxó boy was wounded in the arm by gunfire reportedly by gunmen as group of Indigenous Pataxó sought to retake land within the Comexatibá Indigenous Territory said “it was immediately determined the priority in the investigation,” with civil police teams going on site to conduct investigations in search of the perpetrators of the crime and the Military Police reinforcing the task force teams in the region the state’s superintendent of policies for Indigenous peoples the state management is seeking articulation with the federal government which is responsible for the demarcation of Indigenous territories We have been in the area listening to the communities and making ourselves available to the leaders we are drawing up plans to manage this conflict,” she said in a news release the Federal Public Ministry in Bahia said it is investigating the actions of an armed group against the Indigenous community through a previously opened procedure It added that it has requested information from the government of Bahia and the Ministry of Justice about what measures have been or will be adopted to safeguard the integrity of the communities living in the Barra Velha Indigenous Territory The Federal Police in Bahia did not respond to Mongabay’s requests for comment Violence against Indigenous people this year is not isolated to Bahia two Indigenous Guajajara were shot in the head in northeastern Maranhão state as confirmed by the state’s civil police in an emailed statement The civil police said the two attempted murders are being investigated by the police station in the town of Arame and accompanied by the Federal Police It added that it has already heard statements from witnesses and family members of the victims who “are still in a serious condition in the ICU of the Municipal Hospital of Grajaú.” So far The Federal Police said the case is being investigated by the civil police. The Federal Public Ministry in Maranhão did not respond to Mongabay’s requests for comment. Maranhão was the stage of three murders and one attempted murder of Guajajara Indigenous Unknown perpetrators reportedly ran over Jael Carlos Miranda Guajajara in a vehicle and killed him in Arame; gunmen also shot dead Antônio Cafeteiro Silva Guajajara Janildo Oliveira Guajajara was shot and killed by unknown assailants in an apparent ambush where the perpetrators also shot and injured a 14-year-old Guajajara boy more than 50 Guajajara individuals have been killed in Maranhão with none of the alleged perpetrators ever going on trial Banner image: A member of the Pataxó community. Image by Karenalmeid via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) Karla Mendes is a staff contributing editor for Mongabay in Brazil. Find her on Twitter: @karlamendes FEEDBACK: Use this form to send a message to the author of this post Indigenous Brazilians demand justice as 4 killed in escalating violence With plantation takeover, Brazil’s Indigenous Pataxó move to reclaim their land The “fortress conservation” model is under pressure in East Africa as protected areas become battlegrounds over history and global efforts to halt biodiversity loss Mongabay’s Special Issue goes beyond the region’s world-renowned safaris to examine how rural communities and governments are reckoning with conservation’s colonial origins and trying to forge a path forward […] There are wide lessons to be learned from the controversy over the origins of the enigmatic Cretaceous lacustrine carbonate reservoirs of offshore Brazil Figure 1: Location of Santos and Campos Basins Much of the interest in Brazil’s autumn bid rounds will again be on the Santos and Campos Basins with their lacustrine carbonate reservoirs (Figure 1) In the Santos Basin over 30 discoveries have been made in such reservoirs since the Tupi (now Lula) discovery in 2006 with combined recoverable reserves estimated at >30 Bboe in the Cretaceous (Aptian) Barra Velha Formation (known as the ‘Microbialite’) Discoveries have also been made in the adjacent Campos Basin where the same unit is known as the Macabu Formation The Barra Velha Formation can reach thicknesses of over 550m with some wells producing in excess of 28,000 bopd It occurs beneath a cover of marine salt (the Ariri) and represents a later rift-to-sag interval of South Atlantic opening Deeper in the section are the mainly Barremian coquina (shelly limestone) reservoirs of the Itapema Formation well documented from the Campos Basin where they constitute the Coqueiros The Barra Velha and its correlatives represent a lake system that covered an area of at least 335,000 km2: a similar size to the present-day Caspian Sea While debate continues over the origins of the coquina reservoirs the main controversy relates to the Barra Velha and its equivalents The implications of the different interpretations for this unit are quite fundamental in terms of both exploration strategies and reservoir modelling which was clearly associated with relatively deep lakes during active rifting the Barra Velha was deposited during the latter stages of rifting but shows clear evidence of syn-depositional control on stratal patterns Localized deformation continued through the later ‘sag’ phase Figure 2a: Main components of the Barra Velha reservoirs: Calcite shrubs with inter-shrub porosity (blue) and some mouldic porosity within the shrubs Figure 2b: Main components of the Barra Velha reservoirs: Same image under cross-polarized light with distinctive sweeping extinction patterns reflecting the fibrous microstructure Figure 2c: Main components of the Barra Velha reservoirs: Spherulites set in a talc-stevensite matrix within which are dolomite crystals and elongate bridge-like dolomites Figure 2d: Main components of the Barra Velha reservoirs: Spherulites with pore spaces after the dissolution of the stevensite; the internal structure of the spherulites is clearly seen in cross-polarized light The Barra Velha carbonates are very simple in their composition They consist of just two main primary components (Figure 2): millimeter to centimeter-sized crystalline fibrous calcitic shrub-like structures resembling features found in present-day abiotic travertines (thermal spring deposits); and millimeter-sized spherulites made of fibrous calcite resulting in much reduced reservoir quality they can be porous and constitute the most widespread reservoir facies the in-situ examples can also be non-reservoir if the carbonate features occur within magnesium-silicate matrices (talc-stevensite) What is unique about these reservoirs is that some of the clays which initially formed as gels precipitated out of the lake waters and were deposited on the lake floor later dissolved to produce a previously unrecorded type of mouldic porosity some microbial carbonates occur but represent very little of the formation in terms of thickness Although many academic researchers have interpreted the spherulites as probably microbial in origin to date no actual evidence has been presented to justify that conclusion Finely laminated carbonate muds formed as thin units during deepening events in the lakes caused by increased run-off bringing in fresher waters as indicated by fish and invertebrate remains In deeper parts of the lakes somewhat different laminites There are meter-scale cyclic packages with thin fish-bearing laminites overlain by in situ shrub units (Figure 3) These have been interpreted as reflecting freshening and deepening of the shallow lakes by run-off to produce the laminites a view supported by geochemical studies using C and O stable isotope analyses as well as thermodynamic modeling The occurrence of what was originally stevensite suggests the pH of these alkaline lakes likely exceeded 10 and the surprising rarity of microbial carbonates implies that the pH may have been even higher during the evaporation phases Figure 3: Shallow lake geological model for the Barra Velha Formation based on a tilt-block setting On the gentler dip slopes localized wave-dominated shorefaces developed with possible spit complexes Coarser sediments accumulated on the scarp slopes Meter-scale cycles developed locally as the shallow lakes expanded with increased rainfall when the carbonates and magnesium-silicates formed Mound-like features occasionally developed in Santos Basin (Based on multiple sources including Barnett et al. Why should the Barra Velha and its equivalents be so unique when there are many carbonate-bearing rift successions in the geological record The extreme thinning of crust during the opening of the South Atlantic may have led to exhumation of the mantle creating hydrothermal conditions linked to serpentinization although there is no geochemical evidence for elevated temperatures in the lakes and 87Sr/86Sr data does not indicate a significant input from the alteration of the mantle or ocean basalts More intriguing is the possibility that the extreme alkalinity in the lakes was due to high CO2 input The current controversy over the Barra Velha Formation involves two distinct interpretations The first was the ‘top-down’ microbialite-platform model This uses seismic data to identify high relief platforms with seemingly hundreds of meters of relief which have been compared to present-day and older marine carbonate platforms The attribution of the Barra Velha carbonates to a microbial origin has led to some companies making direct analogies with the high relief Carboniferous marine microbial platforms of the Pre-Caspian basin in Kazakhstan where marine carbonate platforms are differentiated into margins (commonly the preferred targets for exploration) and protected interior facies Some companies have developed reservoir models based on this concept but there are no analogs for the key rock types in the Barra Velha and there is currently little evidence for the carbonates being largely microbial The alternative ‘bottom-up model’ for the Barra Velha was based on the recognition that no viable analogs have been identified The strategy was to start by understanding the basic components making the reservoir rock and assessing them using basic science such as establishing the chemical conditions in which the unusual mineral suite formed combined with integrating crystal growth data multiple interpretations were deliberately sought modified and rejected as more data allowed a clearer understanding of the chemical environment Only once the fundamental controls were understood the main conclusion being that the Barra Velha formed in shallow lakes was the seismic data evaluated; without information on lacustrine carbonate seismic facies or marine analogs the seismic-first approach was considered unjustified running de-risking workflows on the seismic features also showed little likelihood that they were analogous to marine carbonate build-ups Many high relief features were subsequently interpreted as reflecting post-Barra Velha a package in the uppermost 30m of the formation characterized by a series of prominent spikes on the gamma log The carbonates in this interval contain a series of very distinctive cycles including all the typical Barra Velha rock types as well as clear microbial carbonates and reliable water depth indicators proving a very shallow water origin correlatable for 180km across the Santos Basin were affected by hundreds of meters of differential local displacement prior to the main phase of salt deposition (Figure 4) Figure 4: West-east correlation across the Santos Basin showing the unit at the top of the Barra Velha Formation known as ‘Lula’s Fingers’ Its thickness varies from 20.8 to 28.5m (mean 24.3m) within which 9 gamma-defined cycles (mean thickness 2.7m) can be identified These comprise shallowingupwards cycles defined by basal laminites These cycles are well sampled and the facies are very similar in all wells and include a range of unequivocally shallow water sediments Even though these cycles were deposited at comparable water depths they are now separated by over 1 km of vertical relief the highly unusual composition of the lacustrine carbonate reservoirs in the South Atlantic are especially challenging Interpreting these reservoirs has presented a challenge to the accepted wisdom based on marine carbonate analogs and has required a bottom-up approach relying on first understanding the chemistry of extreme lake environments which were heavily influenced by highly thinned crust and the effects of the mantle and then seeking a wider range of explanations for the seismic features Resolving this controversy has huge implications for future exploration and development programs in the wider region Henk KombrinkHenk.Kombrink@geoexpro.com+44 77 8899 2374 Sales DirectorIngvild Ryggen CarstensSales EnquiriesIngvild.Carstens@geoexpro.com+47 974 69 090 Brazil (AP) — Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Friday granted official recognition of nearly 800 square miles of Indigenous lands following through on a campaign promise in a move that also protects critical Amazon rainforest from commercial exploitation the world’s largest tropical forest and an important carbon sink that helps moderate climate change The total area of recognized lands in the biome is 161,500 hectares (620 square miles) Lula’s action was welcomed by the Indigenous movement but not without some frustration that it was limited in size his government had pledged to create 14 new territories in the short term At an encampment of Indigenous people in capital Brasilia Lula addressed a packed crowd that included workers from the federal government’s Indigenous affairs agency who chanted and held banners during the ceremony The encampment itself includes hundreds of tents on the city’s main esplanade with Indigenous people of various ethnicities sell handicrafts and hold political demonstrations READ MORE: Bolsonaro hands over undeclared jewels to Brazilian authorities “We are going to legalize Indigenous lands because it has to go through many hands,” Lula said “I don’t want any Indigenous territory to be left without demarcation during my government executive coordinator at Indigenous people’s organization Apib called the demarcation a welcome shift after four years of threats and invasions targeting Indigenous territories under Lula’s predecessor Jair Bolsonaro it is a very significant process of restarting there are still other lands that can be advanced,” he said Among lands that missed out was the Barra Velha territory of the Pataxó people in southern Bahia state that we helped build” must demarcate their land as soon as possible to prevent invasions by outsiders Already there are conflicts involving agribusiness and land-grabbers Atxuab said he has met with the Indigenous Peoples minister — a newly created position under Lula’s government — but has not been given any date for his land’s demarcation The largest new area is located in the Amazonas state The Nadöb people’s Uneiuxi Indigenous Territory has been expanded by 37% to 554,000 hectares (2,100 square miles) of primary rainforest It is in a remote area — from the main village it takes four days to travel to the closest city in a low-powered motor boat the most common mode of transportation in the region “The demarcation will make the Nadöb people feel safe and protected within our territory like our ancestors,” chief Eduardo Castelo told The Associated Press in a phone interview “We don’t want the impact of the whites on our territory.” Indigenous demarcation had been halted since 2018 following Bolsonaro’s promise to the agribusiness sector Studies have shown that Indigenous-controlled forests are the best preserved in the Brazilian Amazon. But deforestation grew by 195% between 2019 and 2021 in comparison with the four previous years, according to a recent study published in the journal Nature. This destruction has been largely caused by non-Indigenous people The Amazon rainforest covers an area twice the size of India and is a crucial buffer against climate change as it absorbs a significant amount of carbon dioxide has caused almost half of its carbon emissions The eastern Amazon’s destruction is so extensive that it has now become a carbon source instead of a carbon sink for the Earth His government also created the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples responding to a demand from the grassroots movement © 1996 - 2025 NewsHour Productions LLC PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization Subscribe to Here's the Deal with Lisa Desjardins The violence the Pataxó are experiencing is emblematic of what Indigenous peoples are facing in the country from the south of Brazil to the northeast to the northern Amazonian region The crime occurred when the two young residents of Barra Velha Indigenous Land were traveling to a farm in a contested region claimed by the Pataxó people Barra Velha is the site of intense conflicts with local ranchers as Indigenous communities claim the region as their land Chief Zeca Pataxó stated that “the situation certainly has to do with our process of retaking our lands.” This type of brutality affects all Indigenous peoples in the country and is a consequence of the climate of violence and impunity fostered by the Bolsonaro administration with major implications for Indigenous peoples and their lands The response by the federal government under President Lula da Silva is notable because government agencies are now proactive in responding to these attacks According to Eloy Terena Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples an Emergency Office was created to monitor the conflicts in the region With this office and the combined efforts of various ministries and the government of Bahia state they have committed to monitoring the investigations and response measures The president of Brazil’s National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI) expressed her solidarity with the Pataxó people for the loss of the two youths “The situation of violence in the south of Bahia needs to be stopped urgently,” Wapichana said stating that she asked FUNAI to carry out “due monitoring of the case with support and protection from the federal police.” “In the same way I requested measures to ensure the protection of the Indigenous peoples of this region of Bahia and measures to guarantee that justice is served,” she concluded Amazon Watch Legal Advisor and Defend the Defenders Program Coordinator “We are appalled at these horrific killings and the continued threats that Indigenous Peoples in Brazil continue to face Violence against Indigenous peoples in Brazil will not stop automatically with the new administration as criminals were protected and strengthened throughout the Bolsonaro administration in various regions of Brazil and Joenia today acting strongly as the public power for the protection of Indigenous peoples and guaranteeing their rights is a great and fundamental step.” “How are we going to eliminate illegal deforestation by 2030 with a project that demands more deforestation It's not possible to talk about being a leader against climate change with a project to destroy the Amazon." Munduruku ancestral territory Sawré Muybu advanced to the final stage of demarcation DONATE NOW DONATE NOW DONATE NOW Join the conversation on social networks and participate in our online community ROAR Magazine is an independent journal of the radical imagination providing grassroots perspectives from the frontlines of the global struggle for real democracy Lost Password? the Pataxó have resisted the colonization of their lands — the struggle to protect their language There was an elder who was seated on a rock on the seashore The first wave hit the rock and made the sound “pa,” the second wave made the sound “ta” and when both waves retreated back to the sea they made the sound “xó.” “Pa-ta-xó.” That’s why Pataxó means the “sound of water.” whose name means “wolf-warrior.” This photo essay is not published under ROAR’s regular Creative Commons license Please secure permission from the author before reproducing this content where the first Portuguese colonizers landed in 1500 are still suffering from the consequences of that fateful day traversing the forests and living off what nature provided in the mid-19th century they were forced to settle down and form the aldeia (village) of Barra Velha Txag’ru Mirawê cultural center in Barra Velha amidst all the things the government has tried to do to oppress us the Pataxó has the ability to keep his head up and continue ahead with his ideals and culture Kids playing at the Txag’ru Mirawê cultural center “Many Indigenous peoples were raped and killed,” Ubiranan continues More than five hundred years have passed and we exist looking to destroy Indigenous peoples and our fauna and flora.” resulting in the Pataxó dispersing and fleeing to other places to seek refuge “Many Pataxó fled to the extreme South of Bahia where they became slaves in exchange for food or a place to sleep,” says Nitynawã And today we’re fighting to win back our lands that were taken from us we have to see the spilt blood of our relatives fall to the ground.” the Pataxó were banned from speaking their native language it’s our secret that our great God left us and now we’ve lost a lot of that,” laments Ubiranan he goes on to explain that today the language is being revived and taught at Pataxó schools Nitynawã went on to achieve her dream of being able to read and write without going to school “And sometimes even today we go through this in schools in whichever place we are in we face discrimination and prejudices — not as much as in the past While many Pataxó have to endure all kinds of prejudice simply for being Indigenous “I personally have suffered a lot from prejudice because as well as being Pataxó I’m also mixed-race So many people tell me that I’m not Indigenous but unfortunately these people continue thinking I’m not Indigenous.” Wêha does not let their ignorance defeat him I beat my chest and say that I’m Pataxó and whoever wants to disagree I know where I come from and where I was brought up my roots and for me that is what’s important.” Ytxêwá (savior) and Gwanãnhí (happy hummingbird) This complex question of identity — of being mixed or Indigenous — has been weighing down on the Pataxó for years “The Aldeia Jaqueira was founded in 1997 by three women in order to demonstrate to ourselves who we are in order for them to be accepted in that other society had to take on the identity of the caboclo (a person with mixed Indigenous and European ancestry),” says Nitynawã “So this is a way for us to show that we’re not cabolco the biggest difficulty the Pataxó face today is the question of land: “Our right to get our land demarcated as indigenous land 15 are demarcated and 25 are still in the process of being demarcated.” “We often hear the president say that the Indigenous have too much land grandchildren and great-grandchildren to think about and we depend on nature to survive.” cities are being flooded because there’s no more forest to protect the rivers We believe that the earth is not just for agriculture but she needs to be preserved for future generations.” because everyday she is being born and growing grandchildren and for me to absorb good energies Help ROAR cultivate the radical imagination Sonum is an independent filmmaker and photographer based in London She has been making visual stories on marginalized communities for the past ten years and is particularly drawn to the themes of identity More > Source URL — https://roarmag.org/essays/resist-protect-revive-being-pataxo-in-brazil/ Race & Resistance Read now For your regular fix of revolutionary brainfood ROAR depends entirely on the support of its readers to be able to continue publishing you enable us to commission content and illustrations for our online issues while taking care of all the basic expenses required for running an independent activist publication We constantly publish web content and release thematic issues several times per year The exact amount depends on how much support we receive from our readers 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towards sustaining ROAR as an independent publication and building our collective power as a movement ROAR is published by the Foundation for Autonomous Media and Research an independent non-profit organization registered in Amsterdam All editors and board members are volunteers This allows us to spend all income from our Patreon account on sustaining and expanding our publishing project Once we have paid for basic running costs like web hosting the remaining proceeds will be invested in high-quality content and illustrations for future issues we raised about $10,000 in a crowdfunding campaign and we received a starting grant to complete our new website from the Foundation for Democracy and Media in Amsterdam our Patreon account is currently our only source of income meaning we depend entirely on the solidarity of our readers to keep the publication going ROAR is not just another online magazine — it is a multimedia loudspeaker for the movements and an intellectual breeding ground for revolutionary ideas When you pledge a monthly contribution you will not just receive early access to some of the freshest and most radical content on the web but you will also help sustain a unique self-managed publishing project strengthening the voices of activists around the world ROAR Magazine is a project of the Foundation for Autonomous Media info@roarmag.org Read our republication policy ROAR is an independent journal of the radical imagination providing grassroots perspectives from the front-lines of the global struggle for real democracy “Our Atlantic Forest has several very important living beings species that are already endangered and that we need to bring back,” says the Pataxó Matias Santana president of the Foresters and Reforesters Work Cooperative of the Pataxó Boca da Mata Indigenous village (Cooplanjé) “We created the work cooperative to bring jobs to the community Cooplanjé worked on restoring 210 hectares (519 acres) of degraded Atlantic Forest areas to increase forest connectivity between the Monte Pascoal National and Historical Park — the first piece of land sighted by Portuguese colonizers — and the Pau Brasil National Park also integrating the Barra Velha Monte Pascoal Indigenous Territory of the Pataxó ethnic group “It was the first time that BNDES financed an AFS [agroforestry system] project in the Atlantic Forest biome,” says Marcos Lemos from the Natureza Bela Environmental Group Fifty hectares (123 acres) out of 210 were restored within the Boca da Mata village “We use this AFS as a restoration strategy for Monte Pascoal.” In addition to the productive agroforestry system forming a kind of green belt sorrounding the reforested area it is a way to strengthen the survival of Indigenous communities “The conservation unit has an overlap with the communities of the Barra Velha of Monte Pascoal Indigenous Territory which consists of 16 villages surrounding the park,” explains Lemos “Today I imagine that we have about 2,000 hectares [4,942 acres] or more going through a restoration process in the Monte Pascoal-Pau Brasil Ecological Corridor most of them concentrated on the edges of the parks,” says researcher Paulo Dimas Rocha de Menezes from the Federal University of Southern Bahia restoration projects have collaborated to form the ecological corridor contributing to the gene flow of animals and plant species and also to implement economic activities that benefit the people of the region “We have a history of deforestation and occupation of this region that was exclusively logging first removing the Atlantic Forest and then entering with pastures,” says Lemos “We are coming with a whole set of actions and institutions to maintain what exists and advance in preservation considering that we are in a region with three national parks and we also have the Abrolhos Marine Park which is influenced by these recharge areas.” One of the largest remnants of Brazilwood forests (Paubrasilia echinata) survives in this region of water relevance and rich biodiversity in a settlement of the Landless Workers Movement the largest specimen of Brazilwood in the country was found in 2020 with an estimated age of 600 years and a circumference of more than 7 meters (23 feet) which already covered the Bahian soil before the arrival of Portuguese colonizers “We work with 132 endemic species and try to restore what used to be our flora jacaranda — species that we don’t find anymore,” says Lemos Besides conservation units and Indigenous villages also known as the Mosaic of Protected Areas of the Extreme South of Bahia (Mapes) includes private lands and suffers strong pressure from the use of native Atlantic Forest timber “The devastation in the extreme south of Bahia is very recent,” says Dimas “The first stretch that Europeans occupied on the coast was the last to be settled because colonization was forbidden here when they discovered Minas Gerais.” To protect the gold discovered in the 17th century in Brazil’s interior settlers were prohibited from the north of Espírito Santo to the south of Bahia The Indigenous people there served as a shield preventing non-Portuguese from entering the mining region the construction of the Bahia-Minas Gerais Railroad exacerbated deforestation intensified with the paving of the BR-101 highway in the 1970s “With the incentive of the military dictatorship more than 200 sawmills were installed here and they destroyed the forest in 20 years,” says Dimas “By the 1990s there was almost no forest left except for what was later transformed into national parks If some accuse the Indigenous people of deforesting the area experts say their use of wood for handicrafts is irrelevant compared with the region’s history of devastation “Our history proves that it is not them They are the ones who suffer the most and are exploited even today in this issue of wood extraction,” says Lemos but there is still an inhumane exploitation for the man who cuts this wood because it is done in a handmade way and sold at very low prices which comes to be a degradation of the human condition.” Cooplanjé and the productive agroforestry systems have emerged as an alternative to the use of wood in the Pataxó territory “Several families have left the extraction and processing of wood for restoration and agroforestry,” says Paulo Dimas the ideal would be to take all the families out of this activity and turn them into forest-living families.” Despite the advance, the Pataxó people live in a situation of constant conflict with ranchers “Here in the territory of Barra Velha this area that the [Indigenous] community entered is a demarcated area that has already been ratified but today it is occupied by ranchers,” says Santana “We have already had a dispute with the government and with Funai to pay for the property that the ranchers have on the land and to liberate our territory So the community makes the claim in this way the amount of land in possession of the Pataxó in the Barra Velha do Monte Pascoal Indigenous Territory is very restricted “They have the right here to more than 50,000 hectares (123,553 acres) of land already demarcated and they are in possession of 9,000 hectares (22,240 acres) they cannot maintain traditional activities and have to live on tourism Santana wanted to keep the 80 families who worked on the BNDES-funded restoration project within Cooplanjé but it was not possible due to a lack of new projects only five families remain working in the cooperative “Our plan is to seek partners and funders directly so we can have an independent Indigenous organization We are looking for other partners so that we can bring jobs into the community,” says Santana “Now we are happy because we are building a partnership for seed delivery and we are also partnering with a nursery in São Paulo to produce seedlings.” Banner image of maintenance work in the restored area around the Pau Brasil National Park Image courtesy of Natureza Bela Environmental Group This story was reported by Mongabay’s Brazil team and first published here on our Brazil site on Nov From intimate seaside inns to lush tropical resorts here are six Wallpaper*-approved winter sun escapes No need to wait for summer when there’s such invigorating magic in the winter sun From intimate seaside inns to sprawling tropical resorts here are six Wallpaper*-approved escapes where you can reset and recharge Auka Boipeba delivers a dual bliss of jungle and beach cobogós (perforated bricks used to build walls) The beachside spa taps into local botanicals while the restaurant serves shrimp stew risotto and yellowtail snapper ceviche straight from the island’s waters Velha Boipeba’s average February temperature: 29° / 26° (High / Low) Read our full hotel review of Auka Boipeba Minutes away from the beach of Los Naranjos and the lively village of La Punta in the Mexican municipality of Puerto Escondido, Casa Yuma is a peaceful oceanfront oasis that celebrates its surroundings designed the hotel to blend into the environment using native materials and locally sourced ceramics and furnishings and soulful Mexican cuisine set the tone for a balmy escape Casa Yuma is located at Ventanilla KM 153, Lote 10 Los Naranjos, Mexico; casayuma.com escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox Puerto Escondido’s average February temperature: 29° / 22° (High / Low) Read our full hotel review of Casa Yuma A Caribbean jewel with Parisian poise, Cheval Blanc St-Barth offers palatial relaxation on the sun-drenched shores of Baie des Flamands its 61 suites and villas embody the essence of plush island living Jean Imbert’s vibrant menu sets the stage for long while Guerlain’s spa rituals unfold in serene seclusion or indulging in a private beachfront dinner Cheval Blanc St-Barth is located at Baie des Flamands, Saint-Barthélemy 97133, St Barthélemy; chevalblanc.com St-Barth’s average February temperature: 29° / 23° (High / Low) Read our full hotel review of Cheval Blanc St-Barth and bespoke ceramics with the comfort of integrated kitchens and Smeg coffee machines From whale watching on the terrace to feasting on Clarence Valley’s finest produce Il Delfino is an intimate inn of coastal passion Il Delfino is located at 4 Ocean St, Yamba NSW 2464, Australia; ildelfino.com.au Yamba’s average February temperature: 27° / 19° (High / Low) Read our full hotel review of Il Delfino Set within the 350,000 acres that make up Tanzania’s Grumeti Reserve, Singita Milele is a 1,200 sq ft buyout villa that redefines the modern safari retreat its five distinct suites echo the Serengeti’s palette – natural textures dominate with earthy hues combined with soft grassy shades From a starlit infinity pool to a speakeasy-style bar and open-fire boma the savannah isn’t just seen – it’s felt with no barriers between guests and wilderness Singita Milele is located in Natta, Tanzania; singita.com Natta’s average February temperature: 29° / 17° (High / Low) Read our full hotel review of Singita Milele Ta’aktana puts the fishing village of Labuan Bajo on the luxury map the 70-key retreat – including seven overwater sea villas – marries curved silhouettes and natural wood with a modern from snorkelling at Taka Makassar to hikes on Padar Island Ta’aktana’s five distinct food and beverage concepts continue with Taba’s Japanese robata cuisine while Di’a Spa’s cave-inspired rituals offer a restorative experience Labuan Bajo’s average February temperature: 29° / 24° (High / Low) Read our full hotel review of Ta’aktana Labuan Bajo Travel EditorSofia de la Cruz is the Travel Editor at Wallpaper* she feels most inspired when taking the role of a cultural observer – chronicling the essence of cities and remote corners through their nuances often shaped by conversations with the photographers who capture these worlds through their lens The Pre-Salt reservoirs in Brazil are home to some of the world’s largest oil and gas reserves and one of the most exciting exploration frontiers until now the exceptional depth of more than 5,000 m below sea level with around 2,000 m of salt overlying the reservoir has caused significant challenges to de-risk locations for drilling exploration wells The industry therefore needs to capitalize on any data that already exists from these reservoirs we describe how digital core data forms a key part of the solution providing a continuous dataset along cored intervals in addition to the traditional plug measurements exploration teams have had to make do with limited data types from core samples The resolution of these data is usually low They typically range from three to five core plug measurements per meter with or without essential metadata Sparse resolution along with uncertain data quality can hinder any geological model Data uncertainty can cloud precise decision-making creating additional costs for acquiring new core Without a centralized system for easy retrieval of these historical data they are often scattered across numerous repositories Professionals have to spend valuable time and resources locating the necessary information There is also the challenge of how records are stored The transition from paper to digital formats is time-consuming and prone to errors often compromising the integrity of the data These challenges underscore the need for innovative solutions – solutions that the Geotek-Solintec multiclient project now provides spanning two scales of measurement: the core scale (mm to m) and the pore scale (<sub to mm) the catalog provides data that was never before acquired from these complex rock formations The core scale is represented by hyperspectral imaging and multi-sensor core logger (MSCL) measurements of 1,164 meters of core from 16 wells Data acquired from the cores includes ultra-high definition visible and UV images The pore-scale data is represented by digital high-resolution twins of 3,003 thin sections that correspond to the same intervals as the core samples These thin sections offer a microscopic view of the rock’s composition and structure providing critical insights into the reservoir’s characteristics This level of detail is invaluable for understanding the geological and petrophysical properties of the pre-salt layers It also perfectly complements the MSCL and hyperspectral datasets from the core The pre-salt digital catalog has yielded a comprehensive suite of deliverables transforming how operators approach pre-salt reservoir exploration Discover the variability of the depositional system through well-to well correlations and apply to the reservoir model and characterization Depth-coregistered data from multiple datatypes that are ready for the ML/AI revolution in geoscience studies Data from the rock catalog enable early lithology classification within the Barra Velha Formation They distinguish two facies and deliver an understanding of the geochemical and mineralogical distribution within and between these units The upper section of this data example is a carbonate reservoir dominated by calcite with 1 m thick intervals of dolomite These rocks are hydrocarbon-bearing with evidence of the dolomite-rich intervals having a lower proportion of hydrocarbons A sharp contact at 5,643 m spells the introduction of a conglomerate This is rich in volcanic lithoclasts interpreted from the reduction in carbonate mineralogy and the elevation of silicon (Si) with a decrease in calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) The hyperspectral imaging shows that these facies of the Barra Velha Formation have 1-2 m thick clay intervals composed of smectite and montmorillonite and lower amounts of illite dispersed throughout The clay is derived from the volcanic clasts within this conglomerate which were re-worked during its deposition combined with generally erratic chemical and mineralogical downcore profiles all support a heterogeneous conglomerate facies The identification of pore-filling clay intervals combined with the heterogeneous nature of the facies all contribute to a reduction in reservoir quality This is why the hydrocarbon content is lower in this section with their pore-filling clay and the nature of their clasts could become an important marker bed and regional barrier to hydrocarbon production – essential for the geological model The digital rock catalog is delivered with visualization software and represents significant progress in the geological evaluation of these pre-salt reservoirs Exploration teams now have access to a wealth of high-quality Geotek and Solintec have advanced the level at which geological data is available for pre-salt operators in Brazil Learn more about the benefits to your specialist research work from the Geotek Solintec Pre-Salt Reservoir Digitalization Project Bahia — Eliane de Oliveira Conceição heard the roar of gunfire before she could see who was firing she could make out three vehicles that slowly approached the farm and opened fire indiscriminately but the bullets pierced the barrier and killed him It wasn’t until one of the rounds ricocheted off a steel gate back at the assailants that they retreated speeding off as quickly as they had arrived “That’s when they finally backed off because they came to kill us all,” she said The farm where this attack occurred in September lies in one of around two dozen plots of land that members of her Indigenous group have reclaimed from wealthy ranchers in the Brazilian state of Bahia a state judge filed repossession orders against three of these reoccupations that will effectively evict the Pataxó intensifying the violence that has been escalating against Indigenous people in the south of Bahia which has claimed the lives of three Pataxó youth The crisis the Pataxó are facing adds to growing pressure on President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the new Ministry of Indigenous Peoples to demarcate Indigenous lands and solidify protections for Indigenous people in Brazil Whether or not the new ministry can curb violence and mitigate the land conflicts will be a test in standing up to powerful moneyed interests that pervade regional politics as state and local authorities have been connected to recent murders and violence in the region The Pataxó were among the first Indigenous people to encounter the Portuguese and have since been dispossessed of all but a few small remaining areas of their ancestral land. The state-run company, Brasil Holanda de Industria S.A., cleared thousands of hectares of native Atlantic forest one of the world’s most ecologically diverse regions where the Pataxó lived effectively evicting them and giving much of the cleared land to cattle ranchers and farmers The state then declared one of the remaining swaths of Atlantic Forest that the Pataxó occupied as a national park They have been awaiting formal demarcation of the two largest Indigenous territories Barra Velha do Monte Pascoal and Comexatiba in the south of Bahia where Conceição da Silva lived Although the federal agency responsible for demarcating Indigenous territories the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai) has already declared both as Indigenous territories which grants them certain constitutional rights several additional steps have to happen for the land to be officially handed over to the Pataxó in a legally binding way multinational agribusiness and farmers continue to encroach on their land “Land-grabbing and the tourism industry are the biggest threats to the Pataxó,” Paulo Lugon Arantes an international consultant for the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI) The Pataxó territories overlap not only with eucalyptus plantations sold to multinational companies but also with multimillion-dollar beachfront properties in one of the last relatively pristine coastal areas in Bahia “We experience a lot of violence from the agribusiness on our land,” Mãdy Pataxó a leader who has helped reoccupy several farms told Mongabay when we visited the Comexatiba Indigenous Territory in February “This irregular urbanization process has been killing our people — drug trafficking This has been disqualifying and mischaracterizing our territory.” President Lula’s administration has stated that it will work to defend Indigenous people’s rights and has made important steps toward that promise He created the country’s first Ministry of Indigenous Peoples under the helm of Sonia Guajajara who in January established a crisis desk to deal with the increased violence toward the Pataxó But the strategy required to address this crisis differs from other crises the new ministry is also dealing with like the Yanomami who have been poisoned by illicit mining in a remote territory Defending against these aggressions boils down to having legal grounds for claiming the land belongs to them “What we need is this: demarcation and security and that the federal government direct its gaze towards us,” said Chief Mãdy Pataxó a key leader involved in the land recovery efforts Demarcation is the key demand from Indigenous people on Lula’s government across Brazil many of the existing legal challenges faced by the Pataxó would be halted or even reversed “Local judges have been giving eviction orders to the Pataxó they will be required to give eviction orders against the invaders,” says Lugon Arantes While the two southernmost Pataxó territories have had their boundaries determined and have been identified as Indigenous Funai still has to respond to the objections made by farmers and business owners in 2015 before the formal demarcation process can progress But Barra Velha do Monte Pascoal has gone through all legal hurdles and awaits the final document that would give full control of the territory to the Pataxó: a declaratory ordinance signed by President Lula leader of Quero-Ver village in the Barra Velha Territory that letter could be coming out at any time — potentially in a matter of weeks This has not prevented a state judge in Bahia from ordering the repossession of Quero-Ver and two other Indigenous reoccupations in mid-March siding with farmers and ordering the Pataxó communities to leave their land again The Pataxó people and the Union Public Defender’s Office have appealed to the courts against the rulings which they fear could further intensify the violence in the region According to Lethicia Reis, a lawyer at CIMI who represents one of the communities, that decision violates a concept enshrined in the Brazilian constitution called Indigenato which recognizes the inherent right of Indigenous peoples to use their ancestral lands and the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court agricultural development and real estate speculation With little sign of advancement throughout the years the Pataxó have turned to a different tactic; last summer they began occupying and reappropriating areas from which they were historically expelled gunned down on a highway while driving back to a reoccupation site in the Barra Velha Territory Their deaths happened just a matter of weeks after assassins had invaded another nearby community in the territory Gustavo Conceição da Silva was the first of three Pataxó youth to be killed in a period of five months Conceição da Silva posted a photo on social media with a sign that read: “The Pataxó ask for help.” It is the only picture that de Oliveira Conceição still has of her son a part of our tribe,” Oliveira Conceição told Mongabay we get more fervent with the will to not lose anyone again I feel like screaming so that people hear the Indigenous cause That they know Indigenous people have rights.” and most still live in fear of perpetual attacks and violence Some of the violence can be attributed to the hangover from the previous president “We are still feeling the echo of the Bolsonaro government where attacks against Indigenous people were structurally encouraged,” CIMI’s Lugon Arantes said Other measures face road blocks by state officials “Because of the escalation of violence in Bahia the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples asked the national force to be sent there to protect them,” said Edson Krenak Brazil’s program director for Cultural Survival has not allowed for the national force to come in State and local authorities have been connected to the recent murders Three MPs were arrested on suspicion of involvement in Conceição da Silva’s death in October suspected of killing two Indigenous Pataxó youth in Itabela as they were returning to a reoccupation in the Barra Velha Indigenous Territory presented himself to the police in Teixeira de Freitas He is a Military Police soldier who provided private security services in the region the Pataxó and experts say that formal demarcation is the only lasting solution to what for many Pataxó seems like never-ending waves of violence Chief Patiburi Pataxó and several other members of the Quero-Ver village were harassed by a group of men brandishing guns and threatening them when they left to get food we want to know what we are going to do,” Chief Patiburi told Mongabay in a voice message “Our people don’t sleep anymore; our people don’t eat anymore; we’re scared to even take a moment to drink Banner image: Chief Patiburi Pataxó stands on the beach of the reclaimed Quero-Ver community Murders of 2 Pataxó leaders prompt Ministry of Indigenous Peoples to launch crisis office The authors propose an approach that uses machine learning to characterize carbonate facies in a wildcat (Gato do Mato) prospect in the Santos basin We analyzed different seismic attributes and selected those that best responded to the seismic patterns identified in the study area as input for an unsupervised classification The classification method used is the self-growing neural network (SGNN) technique that consists of the following steps:  we associated the classified seismic facies with the patterns identified in the amplitude data The seismic facies allowed us to differentiate the carbonate platforms from the build-up facies the classification encountered difficulties in identifying the patterns associated with lake bottom facies and the chaotic seismic pattern of debris facies Seismic attributes are efficient tools for highlighting stratigraphic and structural features Seismic attributes are highly effective in emphasizing stratigraphic features that can be easily detected (or not) in seismic amplitudes Taner (2000) defines a seismic attribute as any information extracted from seismic data whether logical or based on geological/geophysical knowledge seismic attributes are combined to identify seismic patterns that can be associated with depositional environments and diagenetic processes Machine learning algorithms have proven to be a powerful tool in solving problems involving large volumes of data these techniques have been used in seismic facies classification for reservoir characterization They have been a key element in a better understanding of reservoirs allowing more detailed analyses and more reliable results reducing the uncertainties inherent in the exploratory process seismic pattern analysis uses this type of technology in combination with geostatistical methods for facies probability volumes It is the primary hydrocarbon producer in the country with an average 2.8 MMboed out of total Brazilian production of 3.8 MMboed The reservoirs are described as lacustrine carbonates of Aptian age (Buckley 2015) Given the importance of understanding and analyzing these reservoirs we propose an approach for the identification and characterization of carbonate facies in the wildcat prospect which is in the outer high that is the main region of the pre-salt reservoirs of the Santos basin we chose stratigraphic and structural seismic attributes and performed an unsupervised facies classification using the self-growing neural network (SGNN) a machine learning algorithm based on growing neural gas The main Brazilian pre-salt reservoirs are in the Barra Velha formation This formation can be divided into two tectonic sequences by the Intra-Alagoas unconformity with the basal belonging to the rift section and the upper belonging to the sag phase The Barra Velha formation is characterized by the occurrence of in-situ (shrub spherulite and laminate) and reworked facies deposited in a lacustrine environment during the Aptian 1) represents an uplifted structure from the basement and marks the transition from volcanoclastic deposition to almost continuous deposition of carbonate during Barremian and Aptian (Buckley 2015) The structure of this high is delineated by NE-SW trend faults Structural highs influenced the pattern of Cretaceous carbonate accumulation over Neogene sedimentary strata These highs conditioned the accumulation of pre-salt carbonates isolating them from the continental clastic sediment region The seismic data available for analysis is a PSDM (pre-stack depth migration) volume of approximately 1,100 km2 We interpreted the horizons and faults on this seismic amplitude for interval definition analysis of seismic patterns and facies classification To analyze the main geological configurations and characterize carbonate facies 3: 1) carbonate seismic pattern identification through seismic amplitude; 2) seismic attribute generation and analysis; 3) principal component analysis (PCA); and 4) unsupervised seismic classification Carbonate seismic pattern identification through seismic amplitude Recent studies on the characterization of seismic patterns in pre-salt reservoirs show that the main configurations found are build-ups (carbonate mounds) with the carbonate mounds representing the facies with the best porosity and permeability Figure 4 illustrates the seismic patterns identified in the Barra Velha Formation between the Pre-Alagoas unconformity and the base of salt horizon Build-up facies are characterized by chaotic seismic textures with a conical external geometry Debris exhibits prograde geometry with a chaotic internal texture The carbonate platform facies show well-defined flat parallel reflectors The bottom lake facies do not have specific geometry The following seismic attributes were generated to assist the seismic characterization Dip-steered enhancement (DSE) is performed as a seismic filter oriented to dip and azimuth which executes lateral filtering along the surfaces This filtering enhances the lateral continuity of reflectors and removes noises we apply the DSE before generating the Coherence Cube attribute as this attribute is sensitive to the presence of noise Eigen coherence attribute is the ratio of the energy of the data’s coherent component to the energy of the original traces within the analysis window The eigen structure method analyzes a window of traces and determines which wavelet best represents the waveform variability This wavelet is scaled to fit each input trace providing the coherence component of the data The coherence attribute allows the analysis of structural characteristics since it measures the similarity or non-similarity of seismic data We use it to understand the lateral extent of geological features (seismic patterns) and to assist in the identification of more fractured regions The relief attribute was developed by Bulhões and Amorim (2005) It is called amplitude volume attribute (TecVA) and it aims to increase the visualization of reflectors and faults showing small variations in amplitude in a lateral trace-to-trace correlation This attribute is very useful for highlighting the subsurface geology by detailing the discontinuities and lateral variations of the seismic facies and enhancing the lateral continuities of the reflectors Relative acoustic impedance computation is based on seismic trace integration This attribute is an indicator of acoustic impedance changes This is a stratigraphic attribute that assists in identifying and delimiting layers PCA is the process of computing the principal components on the data It can be used before the seismic classification as a filter to reduce the input space dimension The low variability of seismic data makes the PCA a very efficient method for reducing the samples in the input space When applied in seismic multi-attribute facies classification workflows the transformed data can identify and differentiate hidden features The results can improve seismic pattern classification PCA finds the principal directions in multi-dimensional data and determines the optimal shift and rotation of the data to be expressed in those principal directions it classifies the directions according to a decrease in the greatest contribution of each component which can be used to reduce dimensionality the seismic attributes used as input for the PCA were the seismic amplitude filtered by the DSE Unsupervised seismic facies classification with attribute clustering Attribute clustering is a method for automatic unsupervised facies classification such as Self-Growing Neural Network (SGNN) or Growing Neural Gas This method uses a system based on neurons that behave as a gas during the training process The SGNN technique builds a topology defined dynamically that maintains the neighborhood relationships of the data Two principles are honored: i) two neighbor elements in data space continue as neighbors in the topology space and ii) more neurons are assigned to regions with a dense level of information based on the data similarity and propagated later into seismic using a Bayesian approach Three steps are necessary to perform the seismic facies classification The first is selection of the seismic attributes and the interval for the classification The neural network is then trained on the input data the algorithm identifies the main data trends that can be used to classify the data a facies volume is generated with the related probability facies The trained neural network will be used to estimate probabilities for each facies we have a most probable facies volume and probability volumes for each facies using dip-steered enhancement (seismic-driven structural filtering) to help improve continuity of the reflectors and reduce noise and migration smiles This attribute was then used as input for the Eigen coherence computation we can observe the results of the Eigen coherence which emphasize the build-up and bottom lake facies we observe an internal chaotic texture and a fractured central region in the debris facies while the carbonate platform facies show flat parallel and well-defined reflectors The relief attribute accentuates the reflectors’ continuities and chaotic zones and helps to identify the debris seismic facies and the carbonate platform The debris patterns present a prograde geometry with a fault system in the proximal part and a chaotic pattern in the distal part The relief attribute shows the carbonate platform as flat parallel and well-defined reflectors We decided to compute the relative acoustic impedance to obtain a better resolution volume with information about acoustic impedance changes The contribution of each component of the PCA was about 33% We chose only two of the three components where the differentiation between build-ups and the carbonate platform was more evident together with the relative acoustic impedance volume were selected as input for the seismic classification The interval for the unsupervised facies classification was defined by the base of salt horizon and the pre-Alagoas unconformity Several training runs were carried out until we found an optimal number of neurons a model with nine classes produced the best results to represent the carbonate seismic facies Some quality controls were performed to guarantee more confidence in the results a parallel plot allowed the assessment of every attribute contribution during the neuron training there is a good distribution or variation of every class neuron for the different attributes confirming that all the attributes contribute to the prediction which allows the estimation of the most probable facies by defining the neuron influence area as a Gaussian function (weight = e-distance) Smoothing was performed on the results from the seismic dip and azimuth volumes we obtained a most probable facies volume and the probability for each class We associated some seismic facies with the seismic patterns of the Barra Velha Formation We obtained a clear differentiation between the carbonate platform and more fractured areas related to the build-ups Facies in dark blue (class 8) and violet (class 9) are associated with the carbonate platform because of their continuity and flat behavior The brown (class 1) and orange (class 3) facies are more concentrated in areas that show more discontinuities (fracturing) like the build-ups These types of facies are more present in areas closer to the main faults The debris facies were not detected in the interval used for the facies classification workflow the bottom lake patterns did not appear very evident impeding their association with one of the seismic classes The facies occurrence probabilities are shown in Fig The carbonate platform (dark blue and violet) and build-ups (brown and orange) present a high probability of occurrence This type of information is extremely useful for uncertainty analysis associated with facies modeling relief and relative acoustic impedance attributes help the identification and characterization of build-ups which are the main seismic patterns found in the Brazilian pre-salt reservoir Those patterns have the following characteristics: Build-up facies appear on the structural highs with chaotic seismic texture and parallel and well-defined conic external geometry; the carbonate platform facies is located in horsts and presents flat-parallel and sub-parallel high amplitude reflectors; debris facies occur in the fault borders and exhibit a prograde geometry with chaotic internal texture the bottom lake facies are found in structural lows and present transparent seismic facies Principal component analysis before the seismic classification aids in the discretion of build-ups and carbonate platform facies is an effective approach to differentiate the fractured zones mainly associated with build-up facies in the wildcat prospect The prospectivity of the deepwater outboard Santos Basin is revealed by new 3D seismic With a daily oil production in the region of 2.6 MMbo (ANP Brazil is among the ten largest oil producers in the world Just under half of Brazilian oil production comes from the pre-salt carbonate reservoirs of the Santos and Campos Basins Production from sag-phase and syn-rift (Aptian and Neocomian) reservoirs dates back almost to the start of exploration and production in the Campos Basin where Neocomian vesolitic and fractured basalt and Barremian coquinas were put into production in the Badejo and other fields the pre-salt Lower Cretaceous carbonate reservoirs of the Santos and Campos Basins did not occur until the 2006 discovery of the giant Tupi/Lula field in the Santos Basin and the 2008 development of the pre-salt carbonates in the Campos Basin Jubarte field Further discoveries of pre-salt fields in the Campos Basin (some below extant fields in Late Cretaceous to Miocene turbidite sands) followed including the Parque das Baleias fields from 2010 Production from the Lula and Sapinhoa fields in the Santos Basin began in 2013 including Carioca/Lapa (2016) and Franco/Buzios (2018) A fast-track sub-volume (3,370 km2) of the Santos 3D volume is now available for inspection before the upcoming license rounds This sub-volume shows only a small portion of the larger study area but it is sufficient to validate the main findings of the 2D seismic surveys: South America and Africa were part of Gondwana until separated by Late Jurassic-Neocomian rifting when horst and graben structures developed in trends roughly perpendicular to current coastlines a transition is seen from proximal fluvial-alluvial clastic-dominated facies to widespread deposition of lacustrine facies Shallow water lacustrine carbonate reservoirs developed locally on or around horsts whilst coeval organic-rich shales (associated source rocks) accumulated in the grabens and halfgrabens The end of major rifting is marked by a regional angular unconformity with carbonates and shales infilling the late syn-rift to sag basins Increasing salinity of the lacustrine environment culminated in deposition of thick salt which ended with the start of seafloor spreading and the resulting opening up of the restricted rift basin Late Aptian-Albian shallow marine carbonates were deposited on the salt Platform carbonates and their deepwater equivalents dominate the Albian–Cenomanian The Upper Cretaceous to Tertiary is mainly characterized by siliciclastic deposition Initial development of the pre-salt play in the Santos Basin focused around the northern and central areas inboard of the Outer High of the Santos Basin including Libra/Mero and Franco/Buzios in the north; Iara Jupiter and Pau Brasil in the centre; and Sul de Guara and Peroba in the south The primary reservoir for these fields is a high porosity and permeability sag-phase carbonate facies (K46-48: Barra Velha Formation) sealed by the overlying salt This usually presents as horizontal to low angle There is usually little to no evidence of major faulting of this formation in most of the Santos Basin Bioclastic limestones (Itapema Formation/coquinas) at the top of the major rift phase and in the lower part of the sag basin are a potential secondary carbonate reservoir They are typically present as stacked banks of reworked shelly fragments deposited along lake margins and are found in deep to shallow lacustrine environments The corresponding seismic facies is moderate to good amplitude Coqueiros reservoirs have been reported as oil-bearing at Seat and Pão de Açúcar in the Campos Basin Buzios and Lula fields in the Santos Basin The main source rock for the Santos Basin pre-salt fields occurs in the lower syn-rift (K36) As these early discoveries have matured to producing fields exploration has moved south and east into more outboard areas Exploration interest has been sustained by improved understanding of the environment of deposition of the main pre-salt reservoir (the Barra Velha Formation) and by innovations in the licensing regime such as frequent licensing rounds and permanently offered blocks Three exploration rounds in 2018 raised record bid amounts lifting expectations for three more licensing rounds (Concession Round 16 Pre-Salt Production Sharing Contract Round 6 and the Transfer of Rights Surplus round) for which public bidding is scheduled for Q4 2019 The evaporite sequence is seen to comprise both ‘stratified’ and diapiric sections signifying the presence of not just halite but additional evaporite minerals (e.g The presence of this ‘dirty salt’ requires that a common offset RTM (COR) be applied to update the salt body velocity Complex internal deformation (thrusting and folding) is evident in the salt sequences A feature of particular interest in much of the study area is the apparent large fault-throws at base of salt level This is not an anomalous feature of the present study area: similar features have been noted in the PSC Round 5 Saturno and Dione prospects (Petersohn often larger at the pre-salt level than in the underlying syn-rift level This suggests that syn-rift faults were re-activated during or very shortly after Late Aptian salt deposition Note in the seismic foldout how reflectors in the hanging-wall salt (A) onlap the plane of the fault with high angle This may suggest a significant degree of local rotation within the evaporite sequence caused by fault movement and/or salt dissolution Figure 3 shows a map of the Base-Salt horizon throughout the fast-track sub-volume It shows a series of small north-west to south-east trending four-way dip closures flanking a major high Much larger four-way dip structural closures have been mapped on the Spectrum (now TGS) 2D seismic data throughout the study area (Spectrum 2013) outline the Barra Velha Formation immediately under the salt and confirm its minimum thickness throughout the fast-track subvolume to be greater than 200m In much of the fast-track sub-volume the Barra Velha Formation unconformably overlies the syn-rift succession it appears often to unconformably overlie basement This has been a brief review of a fast-track sub-volume that constitutes a little more than an eighth of the greater TGS-Spectrum Santos 3D; any comments on such a small and intermediate sub-volume are necessarily limited analysis of this data does support the findings of the 2D seismic data that large structural closures at Barra Velha Formation level are present throughout the project area together with flanking grabens and half-graben areas filled by syn-rift sediments (prospective kitchen areas and secondary coquina facies secondary carbonate reservoirs) These findings support the prospectivity of this entirely undrilled area of the southern Santos Basin and are essential viewing for any companies interested in the upcoming PSC 6 and future license rounds opened up a new chapter for petroleum reservoirs: lacustrine carbonates capable of producing hydrocarbons at extremely high rates consisting of shell fragments accumulated on lake margins have been found in small fields in shallow water off Brazil particularly in the Santos Basin deepwater Referred to as ‘microbialites’ when first discovered their origin has recently come into question There is good evidence that these carbonates formed in shallow basins abiotically and the ‘microbialites’ do occur but make up a less important portion of these carbonates While there are similarities in these reservoirs both across the South Atlantic and north-south along the margins there is much variation between them as well From area to area they exhibit distinct stratigraphic patterns and diagenetic histories with modes of formation varying from distinctly biotic to abiotic These differences may be explained by the variability in climate and chemistry of the lakes where the carbonates were deposited Knowing the depositional settings for contrasting lacustrine facies is necessary to help interpret and model these important reservoirs Some of the best documented lacustrine deposits are located in the western United States and include the modern Great Salt Lake Pyramid Lake and the Eocene Green River Formation Utah and surrounding states have become one of the many destinations for several international groups looking to better understand lacustrine reservoirs “Great Salt Lake is an excellent locale to study recent microbialite formation as well as abiotic carbonate deposits,” says Michael Vanden Berg Energy and Minerals Program Manager for the Utah Geologic Survey coated grains and shoreline tufas are widespread in and around Great Salt Lake Two readily accessible areas for study are Rozel Point in the northern portion of the lake and Bridger Bay located at the northern tip of Antelope Island The early Great Salt Lake shoreline deposits at Lakeside also provide accessible meter-scale travertine mounds and associated microbialites from past higher lake levels.” Travertine terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs now exposed along the shoreline of Great Salt Lake Holocene microbialite domes along the current margin of Great Salt Lake Offshore from the travertine deposits are the various forms of the microbialites such as those shown in the introductory photographs “The alkaline groundwater can promote growth of both onshore travertine and lacustrine microbialites in the same depositional system,” says Dr Researchers also discovered that different carbonate minerals are closely linked with specific depositional environments Major lake level changes drove the geothermal alkaline groundwater systems with a wide range of temperatures recorded from the travertines due to progressive flushing from depth and mixing with surface water Travertine cascade coating stepped mini-terracette Vents propagated from bedrock through mounds to feed travertine layers “The real tale here at Lakeside is that we have travertine and microbialites that were deposited adjacent to each other and during the same intervals showing that they are not mutually exclusive,” concludes Dr “Travertines and microbialites compete in opposing scenarios that are commonly used for interpreting reservoir facies observed in South Atlantic late sag phase pre-salt lacustrine carbonates Early Great Salt Lake shoreline deposits at Lakeside provide spectacular outcrop analogs for these reservoir facies.” Webster’s observations are backed up by recent publications of the National Agency of Petroleum (ANP) for Brazil on Brazil’s pre-salt reservoirs they identify the Itapema and Barra Velha formations in the Santos Basin as “carbonate rocks formed by coquinas and /or microbialites.” Petrobras used the present-day carbonate rocks deposited at Lagoa Salgada (Salty Lake) in Rio de Janeiro State as analogs to the reservoirs in the Santos Basin The microbial carbonates are found in both the Santos and Campos basins on the sag (post-rift) and upper rift layers Wright has authored several more recent papers on the pre-salt lacustrine carbonates and also has studied some of the Utah ‘analogs’ “What we have found is that there are different reservoir types in the South Atlantic pre-salt,” says Dr “Lake deposystems are controlled by often highly complex hydrological factors reflecting the interaction of local climate tectonics and the composition of the catchment geology We have a much clearer picture now of their diversity and what was controlling their compositions Pre-Salt South Atlantic Carbonate Reservoirs For the pre-salt South Atlantic reservoirs it would seem that analogs abound around the world and greatly vary in ways we are only beginning to understand Great Salt Lake provides one place where some of this variety comes together from abiotic travertine deposits to bioherms in the form of reefs and carbonate buildups It has become important to properly characterize the environment that led to carbonate deposition in order to explore these carbonate reservoirs The Barra Velha Formation and its equivalents “represent shallow lake deposits with the potential for similar facies present off the main structural blocks,” Dr “The same facies can be found in the West African basins and may extend well east of the explored areas in both the Santos and Campos Basins “The problem is there is no direct analog for these complex and highly productive reservoirs and that has caused a controversy over their interpretation,” adds Dr Wright “Conditions in the Cretaceous were unique to that period in creating vast probably due to CO2 derived from the mantle.” as Michael Vanden Berg points out “Even though there may be no direct analogs the general study of lacustrine deposits is still very important to the understanding of all lacustrine reservoirs including the Cretaceous pre-salt reservoirs found offshore Brazil.”