Indigenous people are vital to protect the Atlantic Forest, says study

“Even in very developed and heavily deforested areas, granting property titles to indigenous peoples significantly improved results” in terms of forest preservation, Rayna Benzeev, main author of the study entitled 'Formalizing tenure of Indigenous lands improved forest outcomes in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil'(🇬🇧) and researcher at the University of Colorado – Boulder.

“After formalizing rights, the forest surface increased by 0,77% each year, on average, compared to land where titles were not granted,” he explained.

A Atlantic forest – the second largest tropical forest in Brazil after the Amazon – stretches almost 3 kilometers along the coast. The ecosystem has been decimated by centuries of urbanization, agriculture, logging and mining. 😔

Against 80% of the forest preserved in the Amazon, only 12% of Atlantic forest remains a virgin.

Rayna Benzeev and her colleagues examined data on changes in forest surface and ownership from 129 indigenous territories between 1985 and 2019.

In its article 231, the Constitution Brazilian recognizes indigenous people “their social organization, customs, languages, beliefs and traditions, and the original rights over the lands they traditionally occupy, with the Union being responsible for demarcating them, protecting and ensuring respect for all their assets”.

Despite this, deforestation is ongoing, as are incidents between tribes, farmers and ranchers, or illegal miners.

“Granting property titles to indigenous peoples is crucial if we want to guarantee an end to deforestation and preserve climate balance,” declared Paulo Moutinho, scientist at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), to AFP.

⚠️ Between 2000 and 2020, the Brazil lost more than 20 million hectares of forests, that is, 6% of its forest surface, according to Global Forest Watch.

(To AFP)

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