Day 280 - 17 Jul 96 - Page 37


     
     1        This part of Amazonia received the lion's share of the
     2        fiscal incentives, and so was a site of very aggressive
     3        transformer of forest-to-livestock activities.
     4
     5        3.  The whole of the western Goias State along the River
     6        Araguaia and its tributaries, in particular the area
     7        bordered by the River Araguaia (and beyond-almost as far as
     8        Cuiaba if the forest around the intervening rivers is taken
     9        into consideration) to the west, Barra do
    10        Garcas-Jussara-Goias to the south (and beyond), the State
    11        border near San Miguel do Araguaia-Porangatu to the north
    12        (and beyond), and the BR 153 (and beyond) to the east is an
    13        area that was in the process of transformation in 1978
    14        through to the present day.
    15
    16        4.  The indigenous issues (involving the violent
    17        displacement and relocation of whole communities) have been
    18        authoritatively documented, for example by Doctor Charles
    19        Wagley for the Barra de Garcas area.  Survival
    20        International published a fact finding review of indigenous
    21        issues in Amazonia in 1971 which outlined in detail the
    22        similar abuses that transpired along the Belem Brazilia
    23        corridor and its feed roads (along the BR 153 route) and
    24        this dreadful situation has continued up to the present.
    25        The corridor follows this Bellem-Brazilia and has been
    26        almost entirely deforested on either side for 70-150
    27        kilometers since it was opened in 1960.  The further
    28        towards Goias one progress it is wider the swathe and
    29        clearing becomes, clearly visible from the aerial satellite
    30        images.  Some of the areas described in Mr. Morganti's
    31        Goias list fall into this arena.
    32
    33        Other ranches that are closer to the wide Cuiaba-Barra do
    34        Garcas corridor connect to the clearing areas of the
    35        Belem--Brasilia and are clearly part of the deforestation
    36        front.  This has also been documented by many scholars in
    37        Europe, Brazil and the US including Gerd Kohlhepp, Brent
    38        Millikin, Alfredo Wagner, George Martine and myself, among
    39        many others.  This process of transformation is very well
    40        documented for both Belem-Brasilia corridor and the Cuiaba
    41        region.  I am somewhat surprised for these statements are
    42        being contested at all.
    43
    44        5.  The municipios of Barra do Garcas and San Miguel de
    45        Araguia had increases in their livestock populations that
    46        were truly extraordinary in the 1906's, 1970's and 1980's
    47        essentially augmenting their numbers from around 200,000 to
    48        over a million-and-a-half animals.  This was done largely
    49        at the expense of forest.
    50
    51        6.  Let me add that in support of the testimony of the Sue
    52        Branford, headwater areas of the Araguaia (including its
    53        tributaries in the western part of Goias state) were
    54        largely covered by tropical Amazonian forest, which
    55        included many of the areas named by Senor Morganti as Miss
    56        Branford had indicated.  The "legal Amazonian" is merely
    57        part of a bureaucratic and administrative formality.  It in
    58        no way captures a biotic and geographic truth, but really
    59        only sets formal limits on where certain agencies can act
    60        (such as SUDAM, the superintendency for Amazonia), where

Prev Next Index