Deploy Federal Officers to Protect Rights of Indigenous People 2020) – Brazil’s federal police should immediately send officers to protect Indigenous people and local residents and collect any evidence of abuses allegedly committed during an ongoing state police operation in the Amazon region A federal judge ordered the deployment of federal police on August 7 Federal prosecutors have received reports of alleged killings of Indigenous people by Amazonas state military police in the context of the policing operation in Nova Olinda do Norte The prosecutors have also received credible evidence including entering homes without a warrant “Federal police should deploy officers immediately to investigate the serious allegations of abuses in the Amazon region,” said Maria Laura Canineu, Brazil director at Human Rights Watch “It is critically important to take prompt and effective action to protect local residents from further human rights violations and from any reprisals from state police for speaking out about the abuse.” Munduruku Indigenous people reported to federal prosecutors that two brothers from Coatá-Laranjal Indigenous Territory disappeared on August 5 when they were traveling by canoe along the Abacaxis river to Nova Olinda do Norte according to documentation and recorded audio messages reviewed by Human Rights Watch Indigenous leaders said that the police shot at the brothers from a boat The body of one of the brothers was found floating in the river on August 6 Federal prosecutors said they have received unconfirmed reports that five other people had been killed by state police in Nova Olinda do Norte. The Amazonas state secretariat has confirmed only one death of a man who allegedly opened fire against the officers On August 7, a judge ordered the federal government to send the federal police to the region to protect Indigenous people and local residents and ordered the government of Amazonas state to stop impeding their movement along the Abacaxis river The events that led to the state police operation started on July 23 when two private fishing boats docked along the Abacaxis River in Nova Olinda do Norte carried the Amazonas state secretary for social development A local resident who works with state officials to enforce fishing regulations boarded the Arafat and determined that it lacked the required permit to fish in the area a federal prosecutor and the resident told Human Rights Watch The area is reserved for the use of two “Agro-Extractivist Settlement Projects,” created by the federal land-reform agency (INCRA) through which local residents and the Maraguá Indigenous people have collective use of the land and can carry out only environmentally sustainable economic activities Yet the boat continued on the river toward the Terra Preta community The authorities believe that drug dealers operating out of that community shot at the state secretary On August 3, the Arafat and two other private boats returned to the Abacaxis river, carrying about 10 undercover state military police officers, to find who shot at Costa, federal prosecutors said. At Terra Preta there was a shootout and, according to the state secretary of public security two officers were killed and two others injured In response, Amazonas state sent 50 military police officers to the area, including colonel Ayrton Norte A local community leader told Human Rights Watch and federal prosecutors that on August 4 military police took him to a hotel in Nova Olinda where two officers hit him in the stomach and face for about 30 minutes They kept ordering the community leader to provide information about those responsible for the death of the two officers but he said he did not know anything about it A federal prosecutor told Human Rights Watch that the officers may have been afraid the noise and the man’s cries would attract attention at the hotel the community leader asked for help from the hotel receptionist and a motorcycle taxi “They would have killed me if I had not warned the motorcycle taxi,” the community leader told Human Rights Watch The officers continued the beating on the boat and also put a plastic bag over the man’s head several times until he was about to faint One of the men pulled a folding knife and threatened to cut his genitals and finally let him go with a warning: “If you don’t tell anyone He decided to report what had happened to the Amazonas civil police But the civil police refused to register the complaint He said he believes they did not want to investigate the military police Then the community leader reported what had happened to him to a federal prosecutor who filed a habeas corpus petition for federal protection for him The judge sent the documentation to Amazonas state authorities The community leader believes that making his case public since civil police and state authorities already know about his allegations Federal programs to protect human rights defenders and to assist victims and threatened witnesses should immediately provide protection to the community leader Federal prosecutors and Human Rights Watch also received statements from residents who said since August 4 military police have entered their homes without warrants pointed weapons at them and threated to kill them The police also allegedly stole food and hundreds of liters of gas for their boats and confiscated their cell phones that had been used to record abuses Police have allegedly restricted transit along the Abacaxis river preventing the transport of food and other supplies to communities along the river “The killing and wounding of police officers should be fully investigated but that investigation should never take the form of terrorizing local communities and violating their rights,” Canineu said Get updates on human rights issues from around the globe Human Rights Watch is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 13-2875808 the wife of Paulo Freire who is 91 years old, and to create a documentary on Nita Freire. This trip also served as a pilot trip to forge new relationships with academic and research partners in Brazil especially with Federal University of Ceará in Fortaleza we visited the Four Sticks Project that follows the model of Integrated Community Therapy (ICT) that addresses mental health needs in impoverished areas allowing individuals to engage in group dialogues and support each other The ICT methodology is inspired by Paulo Freire’s pedagogy of hope and is practiced globally We learned that one of the principles behind Community Therapy is the creation of spaces in which people can express their emotions and feelings without risk of being judged We spent the whole day experiencing this space by engaging in various activities The next stop was at the Casa Grande Foundation in Juazeiro de Norte a non-profit organization focused on social and cultural education for children and their families which hosts various programs that are primarily managed by the students who focuses on preserving local history and nurturing children’s leadership abilities to share community stories through various media Children participate in running a radio station with hands-on activities and training in diverse fields The visit highlighted the empowerment of children showcasing a model that could benefit rural communities globally The team met with the faculty at the University of Ceará in Fortaleza to discuss potential partnerships and collaborations between the two universities The meeting provided a platform to explore various areas of mutual interest for potential cooperation Organizers are already in conversation about partnership between the two institutions presenting opportunities that will benefit the program and Ohio University This trip has resulted in building relationships with crucial organizations and individuals working in education reform and innovation in Brazil Organizers are in conversation with faculty from the University of Fortaleza for joint projects and institutional tie-ups While the students have come back with an appreciation for how social change works by experiencing it first-hand at the ground level they are also creating a documentary to showcase Paulo Freire’s work in education through interviews with key people such as Nita Freire and other reformists working in the educational area in Brazil. The trip's organizers are grateful to several units and people who made this trip possible – Dean and Associate Dean of Scripps College of Communication Communication and Development Studies alumni Emma Phillips and the wonderful people in Brazil who made this trip so memorable. © 2025 Ohio University Study proves that Indigenous and Traditional Peoples are essential for the preservation of forests telegram Join our Telegram channel! telegram just as people need forests.” This is the summary of a new study by the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) which proves with data the fundamental role of Indigenous and Traditional Peoples as guardians of Brazil's forests in addition to high social technology in traditional forest management the presence of Indigenous Peoples expands governance over territories and promotes important socio-environmental contributions to recovering degraded areas Access the full study The ISA study also revealed that Indigenous Lands and Extractive Reserves showed better performance in protecting forests when compared to fully protected Conservation Units or Environmental Protection Areas (APAs) Traditionally occupied territories also function as barriers against deforestation 40,5% of Brazilian forests are protected in the national system of protected areas Quilombola Territories and Conservation Units protected areas with the presence of Indigenous Peoples and traditional populations – Indigenous Lands Extractive Reserves and Sustainable Development Reserves – protect a third the rates of forest preservation and regeneration are higher compared to other categories of protected areas the alternation cycles between deforestation and regeneration in the same area are smaller which reveals an intensity of landscape management that does not degrade the forests The high levels of preservation revealed by the study are due to the set of knowledge and practices of Indigenous and Traditional Peoples in forest management this result is only possible because these peoples have ways of living with nature that reflect the essence of any environmental conservation strategy “Indigenous peoples and traditional populations have other conceptions of nature and other ways of interacting with the environment The knowledge of these peoples and their management practices are mixed with the landscapes traditional occupation modes promote barriers against deforestation and favor forest regeneration,” he explains The demarcation of Indigenous Lands has been one of the most effective strategies to protect the forest especially during the government of Jair Bolsonaro no Indigenous Land has been demarcated – not even protected with the support of the State The abandonment scenario is reflected in the high rates of deforestation in the interior of Indigenous Lands. In the last three years, there has been a 138% increase in deforestation, compared to the three previous years (2016 to 2018) of the current government, according to data from Prodes. analyzed by ISA On the other hand, the dismantling of environmental agencies further amplified the setbacks. The National Indian Foundation (Funai) lost 21,5% of its resources, as pointed out study from ISA and UFRJ there was a reduction of almost a quarter of the resources allocated to the agency “It is urgent to resume the process of demarcation of Indigenous Lands it is necessary to create public policies to strengthen the protection and management of protected areas as well as for the environmental restoration of buffer zones” Indigenous Lands in Brazil occupy 13,7% of the national territory while the rest await the completion of the recognition process The largest concentration is in the Amazon with six and the Coastal and Maritime Zone Currently, there are 256 Indigenous Peoples in Brazil, speakers of more than 150 different languages. They are peoples with an endless number of complexities and distinctions among themselves. To find out who are the Indigenous Peoples in Brazil, visit The study was carried out using land use maps prepared with the dataset from the MapBiomas collection for the period 1985 to 2020 To determine the degree of effectiveness in the maintenance of native vegetation in protected areas indices were calculated that express the preserved area or that did not change throughout the historical series the area in regeneration or the anthropized area that regenerated and returned its classification to vegetation the area in rotation or the alternation between native vegetation and deforestation and the intensity of management or the ratio between the duration of anthropization of an area by the number of years since the first anthropization The MapBiomas project is a multi-institutional initiative to generate annual maps of land cover and use from automatic classification processes applied to satellite images. The complete description of the project is in the link The collection used in the present work was 6 Understanding the trajectory of native vegetation in protected areas allows planning forms of interaction to promote processes of protection and natural regeneration the maintenance of forests does not necessarily require a policy of total intervention but it can arise from the involvement of human activities compatible with ecological processes The most relevant news for you to form your opinion on the socio-environmental agenda LAST ISSUE Despite the firm belief that action needs to be taken to combat climate change many Americans consider the environment a low priority The study conducted by Reuters and Ipsos revealed 68 percent of Americans want the nation to lead global efforts to slow climate change’s impacts and 72 percent agree that “given the amount of greenhouse gases that it produces the United States should take aggressive action to slow global warming.” only about 4 percent of Americans consider the environment to be a bigger issue than healthcare (MORE: How Inland Bridges Could Also Be Threatened by Climate Change) “I just kind of feel helpless about it," Arizona resident Dana Anderson told Reuters when asked about climate change "If something happens to the environment The poll was conducted after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would pull out of the landmark Paris Climate Accord. To support his decision, Trump said the deal would kill jobs Despite the president’s decision, more than 1,200 corporations, academic institutions and state and local governments announced they plan to stand behind the agreement and will work to ensure the U.S remains a global leader in reducing emissions The poll also revealed 50 percent of Americans believe global temperatures will increase faster due to the U.S.'s withdrawal from the agreement and 64 percent believe the nation’s relationships with other countries will suffer Reuters and Ipsos conducted the research online and gathered responses from 1,398 people across the nation 459 of which were Republicans and 635 were Democrats; the rest were Independents.MORE ON WEATHER.COM: 9 Amazing Views of Climate Change from the Sky We recognize our responsibility to use data and technology for good We may use or share your data with our data vendors The Weather Channel is the world's most accurate forecaster according to ForecastWatch, Global and Regional Weather Forecast Accuracy Overview Despite the firm belief that action needs to be taken to combat climate change many Americans consider the environment a low priority, according to a recent poll The study conducted by Reuters and Ipsos revealed 68 percent of Americans want the nation to lead global efforts to slow climate change\u2019s impacts and 72 percent agree that \u201Cgiven the amount of greenhouse gases that it produces the United States should take aggressive action to slow global warming.\u201D (MORE: How Inland Bridges Could Also Be Threatened by Climate Change) \u201CI just kind of feel helpless about it,\\\" Arizona resident Dana Anderson told Reuters when asked about climate change \\\"If something happens to the environment The poll was conducted after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would pull out of the landmark Paris Climate Accord. To support his decision, Trump said the deal would kill jobs Despite the president\u2019s decision, more than 1,200 corporations, academic institutions and state and local governments announced they plan to stand behind the agreement and will work to ensure the U.S The poll also revealed 50 percent of Americans believe global temperatures will increase faster due to the U.S.'s withdrawal from the agreement and 64 percent believe the nation\u2019s relationships with other countries will suffer Reuters and Ipsos conducted the research online and gathered responses from 1,398 people across the nation Visually illustrating climate change and global environmental shifts is no easy task documenting humanity’s effect on our planet has been a lifelong passion To date he’s photographed the polar regions Meltwater flows across the top of the Greenland ice sheet southeast of Ilulissat The presence of cryoconite deposited on top of the ice sheet triples the melt rate but it wasn’t until he was given a camera that he realized how photography could change people’s perceptions “Photography became a tool to expose what’s happening in the planet and all the aggressions that the natural world was suffering from us—even though we are supposedly the world’s most intelligent species,” he says Meltwater pools in a low area of the Greenland ice sheet Beltrá has discovered a surprisingly effective way to get his message across: abstract have more impact than traditional storytelling methods depending on what they’re depicting,” he says “It helps to have a certain separation from these big issues—deforestation I find that being up and a bit away helps you to understand the problem.” Severe drought reveals the remains of a tree on the banks of the Madeira River near Nova Olinda do Norte October 2005.He says that it’s common for people to view his photographs and not know what they’re looking at where at first you don’t even know what you’re looking at but then you feel intrigued … [It] ends up creating a relationship to the subject that’s a bit more deep.” Tracking several logging areas in the Amazon September 2013.Beltrá’s projects require a lot of planning and are heavily weather-dependent shooting through a narrow window behind the pilot While Beltrá has spent a lot of time perfecting his technique and looking for extraordinary compositions there are still a lot of factors—such as the motion of the airplane—to contend with Construction of the Belo Monte Dam project near Altamira “The dam will be the third largest in the world submerging 400,000 hectares and displacing 20,000 people,” says Beltrá February 2012.“Planes are complicated because you add speed to the equation “Composing is not that easy—it happens very fast I always tell people that it just goes from my eyes to my fingers to my brain I don’t even really know how it happens.” he doesn’t even fully realize what he’s captured until he reviews the photographs later “There are images that I discover later when I edit A plume of smoke rises from a burn of collected oil in the Gulf of Mexico Controlled burns were used to try to rid the Gulf of the most visible surface oil leaked from the BP Deepwater Horizon May 2010.Beltrá views his relationship with the pilot as a collaboration “I always say that the copyright should be shared—they definitely do a lot of the work,” he says “I try and meet with them before the flight so they can understand what I’m trying to achieve.” If Beltrá sees a stunning landscape while in the air the pilot will loop back around to help him get the shot Water in Iceland’s Ölfusá river flows around sandbars toward the Atlantic Ocean The Ölfusá is Iceland’s largest river and its watershed drains 2,355 square miles (or 1/7th of Iceland) According to a 2015 study by the University of Arizona published in Geophysical Research Letters parts of Iceland are rising as much as 1.3 inches a year as its icecap melts away Beltrá’s relentless dedication has been rewarded more than a few times winning him Wildlife Photographer of the Year and even placing one of his books in the hands of Prince Charles July 2014.But his primary aim is to teach people about the dangers of climate change “The important part is to make people understand that we’re all in this together,” he says we all still live on the same planet—we all drink the same water I don’t think there’s anybody that wouldn’t want to keep that healthy.” See more of Daniel Beltrá’s work on his website. To say the world is having a streak like no other is an understatement. Global warming has made cold scarce on a planetary scale This March clocked in as the second warmest March on record when compared to the 20th-century average, according to newly released data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NASA data published last week came to the same conclusion comparing temperatures to a 1951-1980 baseline The NOAA data shows the planet was 1.9°F (1.05°C) above the 20th century average for March the first time any month has breached the 1°C threshold in the absence of El Niño This March is the latest freakishly hot month following three years in a row of record heat NOAA and NASA baselines don’t really tell the whole story. How much the world has warmed since pre-industrial times is a crucial measuring stick for international climate talks and a more accurate representation of how much climate change is altering the planet more dire picture of global warming emerges This March was 2.4°F (1.3°C) above the pre-industrial average by that measure this March marks a whopping 627 months in a row of warmer than normal temperatures you’ve never experienced a month cooler than average on this planet To understand what that looks like, take a peek at the global temperature chart below. Each month is represented by a box. Cool blues have been disappearing, replaced by a wave of unending heat. Climate change is likely to continue the streak of warmer than normal months into the foreseeable future as temperatures keep marching upward MORE ON CLIMATE CENTRAL:March Was Second Hottest on Record Globally The Climate Could Hit a State Unseen in 50 Million Years Warming Could Hit Rates Unseen in 1,000 Years MORE ON WEATHER.COM: 9 Amazing Views of Climate Change From the Sky To say the world is having a streak like no other is an understatement. Global warming has made cold scarce on a planetary scale This March clocked in as the second warmest March on record when compared to the 20th-century average, according to newly released data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NASA data published last week came to the same conclusion, comparing temperatures to a 1951-1980 baseline The NOAA data shows the planet was 1.9\u00B0F (1.05\u00B0C) above the 20th century average for March the first time any month has breached the 1\u00B0C threshold in the absence of El Ni\u00F1o This March was 2.4\u00B0F (1.3\u00B0C) above the pre-industrial average by that measure you\u2019ve never experienced a month cooler than average on this planet To understand what that looks like, take a peek at the global temperature chart below. Each month is represented by a box. Cool blues have been disappearing, replaced by a wave of unending heat. Climate change is likely to continue the streak of warmer than normal months into the foreseeable future as temperatures keep marching upward MORE ON WEATHER.COM: 9 Amazing Views of Climate Change From the Sky Desmatamento Amazônia - Divulgação/Polícia Federal Deforestation in southern Amazonas state could generate an accumulated loss of more than US$ 2.59 million over 30 years, according to a recent study published on Wednesday (12) by the Institute for Forest Management and Certification (Imaflora The estimate was based on the value of activities that do not degrade the forest sustainable timber management and carbon credit projects For the research, the institute considered undesignated public lands—areas not protected by the Brazilian state or federal government, also called Undesignated Public Forests (FPND, in Portuguese)—in the southern region of Amazonas, surrounding the BR 319 highway which connects Manaus (Amazonas capital) to Porto Velho (Rondônia capital) “The sustainable use of FPNDs is much more efficient than converting them to pasture,” says Pedro Gasparinetti one hectare of forest conserves 324 tons of carbon “which could attract billions in investments from carbon markets,” the study points out which is one of the main deforestation drivers in the region generates only between US$ 86.5 and US$ 129.7 per hectare per year which is much less than what standing forests can provide,” says Marco Lentini In 2024, President Lula (Workers’ Party) signed a law regulating the carbon credit market in Brazil. However, many of these bills are criticized for lack of transparency regarding the communities involved and even misuse of public land. Over half of the territories show evidence of land grabbing there are 63 million hectares of undesignated public lands an area larger than the state of Minas Gerais In the southern region of the state of Amazonas alone these areas are the equivalent of 11 million hectares In another study Imaflora researchers indicate that more than 52% of federal public lands and 77% of state public lands in the region overlap with records in the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR As the CAR is self-declaratory – that is anyone can register with the state registration systems – the existence of these overlaps indicates land grabbing a forestry analyst at Imaflora and one of the authors of the study some of these registrations in public areas may be the result of flaws in the registration system we can consider there is land grabbing,” she says undesignated public lands in the Brazilian Amazon were the areas most affected by fires fire is one of the tools used in land grabbing practices Part of the study covers the Amazon portion of Amacro an agricultural frontier between the states of Amazonas The area is marked by violence linked to land disputes The area studied corresponds to the southern and central mesoregions of the state of Amazonas it was considered the intersection zone between the municipalities in the southern region of Amazonas as well as the municipalities of Maués and Tapauá focusing on the area of the BR 319 highway spatially defined as 150 km on either side of the road Researchers and environmentalists have been criticizing the project to pave the BR 319 highway which links Manaus (Amazonas capital) to Porto Velho (Rondônia capital) for having the potential to increase deforestation in the region The study covers all or part of 31 municipalities in Amazonas: Apuí São Sebastião do Uatumã and Silves Todos os conteúdos de produção exclusiva e de autoria editorial do Brasil de Fato podem ser reproduzidos desde que não sejam alterados e que se deem os devidos créditos Todos os conteúdos de produção exclusiva e de autoria editorial do Brasil de Fato podem ser reproduzidos A new study paints a picture of an Earth that is warmer than it has been in about 120,000 years and is locked into eventually hitting its hottest mark in more than 2 million years As part of her doctoral dissertation at Stanford University created a continuous 2 million year temperature record much longer than a previous 22,000-year record doesn’t estimate temperature for a single year but averages 5,000-year time periods going back a couple million years Snyder based her reconstruction on 61 different sea surface temperature proxies from across the globe such as ratios between magnesium and calcium But the further the study goes back in time These are rough estimates with large margins of errors But she also found that the temperature changes correlated well to carbon dioxide levels Temperatures averaged out over the most recent 5,000 years — which includes the last 125 years or so of industrial emissions of heat-trapping gases — are generally warmer than they have been since about 120,000 years ago or so the one 120,000 years ago and another just about 2 million years ago They were about 3.6 degrees (2 degrees Celsius) warmer than the current 5,000-year average With the link to carbon dioxide levels and taking into account other factors and past trends Snyder calculated how much warming can be expected in the future (PHOTOS: Climate Change and Greenland: Where Ice Melt Could Raise Seas by 23 Feet) Snyder said if climate factors are the same as in the past — and that’s a big if — Earth is already committed to another 7 degrees or so (about 4 degrees Celsius) of warming over the next few thousand years “This is based on what happened in the past,” Snyder said it wasn’t humans messing with the atmosphere.” Scientists give various reasons for past changes in carbon dioxide and heat levels including regular slight shifts in Earth’s orbital tilt Four outside scientists praised the study’s tracking of past temperatures with caveats about how less certain it is as it gets deeper in the past “Snyder’s work is a great contribution and future work should build on it.” But many of the same scientists said Snyder’s estimate of future warming seems too high Shakun called it unrealistic and not matching historical time periods of similar carbon dioxide levels Michael Mann of Pennsylvania State University called the study provocative and interesting but said he remains skeptical until more research confirms it He found the future temperature calculations “so much higher than prevailing estimates that one has to consider it somewhat of an outlier.” doesn\u2019t estimate temperature for a single year but averages 5,000-year time periods going back a couple million years Temperatures averaged out over the most recent 5,000 years \u2014 which includes the last 125 years or so of industrial emissions of heat-trapping gases \u2014 are generally warmer than they have been since about 120,000 years ago or so (PHOTOS: Climate Change and Greenland: Where Ice Melt Could Raise Seas by 23 Feet) Snyder said if climate factors are the same as in the past \u2014 and that\u2019s a big if \u2014 Earth is already committed to another 7 degrees or so (about 4 degrees Celsius) of warming over the next few thousand years \u201CThis is based on what happened in the past,\u201D Snyder said it wasn\u2019t humans messing with the atmosphere.\u201D including regular slight shifts in Earth\u2019s orbital tilt Four outside scientists praised the study\u2019s tracking of past temperatures \u201CSnyder\u2019s work is a great contribution and future work should build on it.\u201D But many of the same scientists said Snyder\u2019s estimate of future warming seems too high He found the future temperature calculations \u201Cso much higher than prevailing estimates that one has to consider it somewhat of an outlier.\u201D