The Amazon ecosystem is on the brink of collapse, indigenous leaders tell brands like Apple and Tesla during the UN meeting in New York.
Indigenous leaders in the Amazon have been imploring big Western brands and banks to stop supporting the continued destruction of vital rainforests through mining, oil extraction and logging, warning that the ecosystem is on the brink of collapse.
Representatives of indigenous peoples from across the Amazon region came to New York this week to pressure governments and companies, meeting in the city for climate and United Nations meetings, to stop the flow of funding for activities that are polluting and deforesting large swaths of the Amazon. jungle.
a new report from the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) alleges that brands such as Apple, Microsoft and Tesla have products that may be contaminated with gold illegally extracted in indigenous territories of the Amazon.
These companies are supplied by two refineries, Chimet and Marsam, which are being investigated by Brazilian authorities for their links to illegal mining. The total area occupied by illegal mining in the Amazon has increased dramatically in the last decade, according to the APIB report, growing 495% to 2,409 hectares in 2021.
Illegal mining grows
Illegal gold mining has exploded in Brazil since the election of President Jair Bolsonaro, whose allies are currently trying to pass a bill in Congress that would allow mineral extraction on indigenous lands. Mining is blamed for mercury poisoning of water, deforestation and conflicts with local indigenous peoples.
“We are witnessing the destruction of ecosystems and entire communities, and people are dying as a result of this deadly industry,” said Dinamam Tuxá, leader of the Tuxá people of Bahia state and executive coordinator of APIB. “Our lives are threatened, mainly by miners, loggers and agro-industries.
“These activities directly threaten our traditional way of life. All the destruction and violence stems from the interest of these giant corporations in advancing industries such as agribusiness and mining within indigenous lands.”
Indigenous activists have also accused several major US financiers, including Blackrock, Vanguard and JP Morgan Chase, of funding mining and logging activities in the Amazon that contribute to rainforest degradation. The rate of deforestation in the Amazon in Brazil has reached a maximum of six years, according to data released in July. , and scientists warn that the legendary ecosystem is facing a transformation to a grassy savannah due to global warming and the cutting down of trees to make way for agriculture.
“We see huge infrastructure projects across the Amazon, projects that are not designed for the people who live in the Amazon,” said Toya Manchineri, leader of the Manchineri people of the Amazon state of Acre. “They are planned by people who live abroad and don’t know anything about our reality.”
Indigenous people, cornered by industry
Manchineri said that logging operations, new dams and oil extraction disrupt traditional indigenous practices, making it difficult to fish or find medicines in the forest. “These big infrastructure projects bring thousands of strangers into our cities, they bring disease, violence, prostitution, alcoholism, filth, they overwhelm our hospitals,” Manchineri said. .
“ These big companies are bad for indigenous peoples. This development does not happen for us, what remains is poverty, violence and abandonment of the State”.
The Amazon has been a major cause for conservationists and some of the indigenous leaders in New York have admitted they were tired of trying to rally those in power to protect what is both a home for the natives and a crucial ecosystem and reservoir of water. carbon that could help stave off climate collapse if conserved.
“Sometimes I wonder why I go. I’m tired of saying the same thing and things move so slowly,” said Domingo Paes, of the Achuar people in the Ecuadorian Amazon. “But I have met many people, in government and young activists, who say that we must act and that this is urgent. When I hear people say that, it gives me hope, that things are changing.”
An Apple spokesperson said: “Our responsible sourcing standards are the strictest in the industry and strictly prohibit the use of illegally mined minerals.
“If a smelter or refiner is unable or unwilling to meet our strict standards, we remove them from our supply chain and, since 2009, have ordered the removal of over 150 smelters and refiners.”
Tesla, Microsoft, JP Morgan Chase and Vanguard were contacted for comment but did not respond at press time. Blackrock declined to comment.
By Oliver Milman. Article in English