Expedition into the unknown uncovers remote Brazilian tribe threatened by hydroelectric dam (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

12 October 2007 14:43

Expedition into the unknown uncovers remote Brazilian tribe threatened by
hydroelectric dam

By Daniel Howden
Published: 11 October 2007
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article3047638.ece

Two British explorers have completed a gruelling six-month expedition down
2,500 kilometres (1,550 miles) of the Xingu river through the Cerrado
savannahlands and rainforest in the heart of Brazil.

Sue and Patrick Cunningham were the sole members of the expedition,
travelling in a small open boat accompanied only by local boatmen. The
couple have received the Neville Shulman Award from the Royal Geographical
Society for their venture. And their journey is being showcased in a London
exhibition which opened this week.

The river passes through the largest Indian reserve in Brazil, and the
couple visited 48 Indian villages. "The Indians of the Xingu are incredible
people," said Sue Cunningham, "They have a profound knowledge of the forest;
they use a huge number of plants and trees to provide for their everyday
needs. And they are important for us, because the forest is a vital weapon
in the fight against climate change."

The Cunninghams kept a blog of their journey...

Departure, 6 April 2007

We finally departed Canarana on 3 April. Heading downriver, we arrived at
the vigilance post where a Kalapalo family group watch over the entrance to
the park. The local chief talks about his concern over the proposed
Paranatinga II dam, of which we will hear more everywhere we go.

Heart of Brazil, 23 May

Our boat, Coração do Brasil, is a 7m aluminium vessel. It is reinforced to
withstand the rocks in the rapids and waterfalls. We have been accompanied
by local boatmen from the start.

The first was Aparecido, a genial non-Indian from Canarana. He has worked
for Funai, the government Indian agency, and has a wealth of knowledge of
the people, plants and animals of the Cerrado.

The Indian way is to eat when food is available. The concept of three meals
a day is alien, and a meal may occur at any time of day, though it usually
happens in the afternoon or evening.

Dams, 28 May

Most of the Xingu catchment area is now protected. But the headwaters, to
the south, west and east, all lie outside of the protected areas. Much is
converted to agriculture, and subject to deforestation. As the forest is
cleared, the amount of sediment, agrotoxins and other pollution entering
the river grows, affecting fish stocks and polluting drinking water. There
are proposals to construct a series of six hydroelectric dams on all of the
main tributaries of the Xingu. One, known as Paranatinga II, is already
under construction. All of the people of the Xingu are seriously concerned.
Arivirá Matipu explains: "This hydroelectric scheme will destroy our
supermarket. Our main source of food is the river, we don't eat game and we
don't keep animals to eat. Our food is fish, and the river provides it. If
the dam is completed, the river will die. And if the river dies, we will
have no food, there will be no more Indians and the forest will die."

Uncontacted tribes, 31 May

A few days ago, a previously unknown group of Kayapo emerged from the forest
to contact their relatives in the village of Kremoro. The first contact was
made by two men who approached the house of Bepro, son of one of the
benajures [village chiefs]. He went to find out what was causing noises at
the back of the house, to find two strange Indians, who beckoned for him to
follow them into the forest. Bepro and his brother, Beprytire, decided to go
to look for them. They soon found them and established that the strange
Indians were Kayapo, though they spoke an archaic version of the language.
The newcomers told them their people were worried because they knew the
forest was being destroyed nearer and nearer to their village and, although
they had built it under the canopy of the forest, they were afraid they
would be found and killed.

Metuktire, 7 June

Metuktire is the closest village to the site of an aeroplane accident last
year involving a Gol Boeing and an executive jet which cost the lives of
over a hundred people. The wreckage of the Boeing came to earth in a remote
region of forest, and the people of Metuktire were the first on the scene.

"We quickly realised there were no survivors," said Cacique Waiwai, one of
the first to reach the wreckage. "All we could do was make a clearing so
that the army could land their helicopters. Once they were there, they sent
us away."

Rapids, 15 June

We negotiated the two most difficult sets of rapids, the Von Martius and the
Pedras. The previously placid river has given way to a series of rocky
stretches, each of which is especially perilous at this time of year.

The night before, our camp was visited by a pair of tapirs, which arrived on
the island from the bank of the river, stayed briefly, then swam away again.

Frontier town, 4 July

São Félix do Xingu is a thriving town, deriving income from the ranches
which have been torn out of the forest. But it has another side. There
remain several large landowners who still use gunmen to frighten away, and
occasionally kill, any of their workers who have stepped out of line.

Final destination, 27 July

As we sped towards Porto de Moz, our final destination, we thought about the
strength of the indigenous cultures we had seen, and reflected on the
progress many ethnic groups have made towards self-determination. We
thought of the threats to the river and its people which are so powerful
today, from the soya farms and hydroelectric schemes on the headwaters to
the huge Belo Monte dam proposed so close to the mouth of the river.

An exhibition of photos from the journey will be on show at Gallery 32,
Green Street, London W1, until 18 October

http://ipcst.wordpress.com