June 2nd, 2008

Brazilian environmental agency Ibama accuses: killed caimans and river dolphins serve as baits for illegal fishing in Amazonia

According to information from the Brazilian environmental agency Ibama, Colombian fishermen pay Brazilian hunters in the western Amazonia for killing river dolphins and caimans, which shall serve as baits for the illegal catch of Piracatingas (Calophysus macropterus), a species of catfish. Up to know it is unknown, how many animals die all in all thereby per year since the largest part of the catfish is smuggled to Colombia.

Biologists and environmentalists warn of the risk for the populations of the river dolphins and caimans. They estimate that fishermen catch about 1.5 tons of catfish with a full-grown caiman as bait and about 300 kg with the meat of a full-grown river dolphin. The last-mentioned are particularly threatened according to Vera Silva, the coordinator of the river dolphin project of the Inpa (National Institute for Amazonian Research): “The river dolphins become 35 to 40 years old, but reach only late the sex-ripe. The females bear in each case only one young after a gestation time of 11 to 12 months.” An uncontrolled interference in the nature of the river dolphins can therefore cause a drastic reduction of the species.

UTo bait the catfishes the hunters cut the heads, fins and/or legs and tails off the river dolphins and caimans and use only their bodies without entrails. The catfish is a scavenger and well-known as a “water vulture”.

Brazilian fishermen earn converted € 0.30 per kilo of catfish sold in Amazonia. In Colombia, where it is called Mota, the catfish costs € 6.30 per kilo approximately. According to the environmental agency the caimans and river dolphins are caught at night to escape controls. The mass slaughter happens in the rivers Içá, Japurá and Juruá, feeder rivers of the Rio Solimões, at the border to Colombia.

Mai 5th, 2006

US-students on educational journey in Brazil

In February 2006 we have been visited by a group of 16 students with their professors from the economic faculty of the University of Virginia. UVA. The voyage was themed “The Business of Saving Nature”.

For the 12-days journey we had organized a very diversified program, which included, amongst others, visits and lectures with governmental agencies such as the SDS (Secretariat for Sustainable Development in Amazonia) in Manaus, the CTA – Center for Environmental Technology of the Federal State of Rio de Janeiro, and Natura, a fast growing company producing natural cosmetics, in Sao Paulo. During a three-day-boat trip, on the Amazonas and Rio Negro rivers, caboclo settlements involved in sustainable development activities have been visited. Fascinating wildlife observations and nature activities aside, the tour provided the young people with an inside view of nature conservation activities in an environment that is of significant importance for the planets health.

On top of the informative part the group, of course, would not miss out on other typical Brazilian attractions like world famous drink Caipirinha, Churrasco, Copacabana beach, Corcovado mountain. It was a great experience. The group learned a lot and had a great time. The return flight to the cold USA therefore was felt as a necessary evil.

April 19th, 2006

Brazilian government to increase Amazon rain forest protection

Brazil’s Ministry of Environment said during the eighth meeting of the Conference on Biodiversity (COP 8) which took place end of March 2006 in Curitiba, Brazil, it would declare more 81,000 square miles of the Amazon rain forest a protected area in the next hree years. The area, which represents 4.2% of the biome in Brazil, is about five times as large as the State of Rio de Janeiro. The project is part of the Amazon Protected Areas Program (Arpa), created in 2002, which also provides units with different degrees of protection and should be concluded until 2012. Since the introduction of the program an area of 62,000 square miles has already been protected. According to the Ministry of Environment only 8,000 square miles must still be protected to conclude the first phase, which is supposed to transform 35,000 square miles in completely protected areas and an additional 35,000 square miles in sustainable development zones. The estimated costs of the Arpa program amount to US$ 400 millions. The US$ 81 millions for the first phase were raised by a partnership between the Brazilian government, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) – a multilateral financial organization for projects that benefit the global environment, the German Bank KfW and the WWF-Brazil.

September 6th, 2005

Artificial insemination of fish
by Tukano Indians

Together, Scientist and Indios, elaborate solutions for conservation of the fish population at the upper Rio Negro

(Extracted from a report from Ciro Porto und Valdemar Sibinelli from "Terra da Gente", August edition No.16, 2005)

The Amazon fluvial system hosts about 2500 known fish species. Among them are some of the biggest freshwater fishes of the world, e.g. the 300 kg reaching Piraíba (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum) and the Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) with an average weight of 150 kg. However, it is estimated that about 3000 more species are waiting to be discovered by science. Diversity of species does not stand for a high density of population. The opposite is the case. The enormous biodiversity of the Amazon region emerged because of poor food supply. The flora and fauna had to accommodate and specialize itself to survive. This is exactly what happens in the black water rivers like the Rio Negro (Portuguese for "black river"), which are poor in nutrition. They drain the swamp forests of the Terra Firme, where they wash away the pre-forms of humus impeding thus composition of a proper humus layer, whereby the rivers obtain its coffee like coloring. The washed-away humic acid makes the water extremely acerbic, the pH-value is about 4. Acidity is further increased by decaying leaves. Black water forest and rivers host a reduced number of animals. The rivers were also called "rivers of hunger" by their first discoverers. On the other hand, the river population remains relatively untroubled by mosquitoes and other insect plagues.

Fish always represented an important source of protein for the native population of the region at the upper Rio Negro. A survey conducted among by the Federation of Indigenous Organizations at the Rio Negro (Foirin) in 1997 to 1998 showed. that the biggest problem for the native people is the reduction of the fish population through over-fishing, caused by a untypical high population growth among the Indians and, as a consequence, a higher food demand.

Hereupon Foirin initiated together with another NGO, the Social-Ecological Institute (ISA), and specialists of the center for tropical fishes at the Institute for Environment and Sustainable Natural Resources of the national environment agency IBAMA the project for artificial fish breeding at the upper Tiquié. Technicians of this institute taught the Indios of the Tukano, Tuzuca and of the Maku tribes all necessary steps for the artificial reproduction. After 5 years of activities in laboratories amidst the jungle, on the upper reaches of the Rio Negro, the extinction of fish - a basic food supply in Amazonia - in the black water region, could be prevented.

Before preparing the caught fish for cooking, its sexual organs are extracted and hormones are injected into the female fish. The whole operation however is not that easy as it seems. The dense forest makes the selection of suitable locations for the breeding basins difficult. Considerable fluctuations of the water temperature of some of the igarapés (flooded areas) lead to high loss of spawn. In addition, the great distances between the laboratories and the spawning grounds hamper a regular control. In this case, the knowledge of the Indios does not help very much, because by tradition they are not experienced in live stock breading and husbandry. Nevertheless, a close work between them and the scientist is indispensable. Last but not least, there is insufficient or no scientific knowledge of many species that cannot be researched adequately because of lack of founding and time. At this point, the knowledge and experience of the native Indians leads to new conclusions .

Purchasing additional feeding stuff is complicated due to the lack of funds. Production quotas therefore are too low to be sold-off as surplus to the market. In any case, the main subject of the project is to grant food supply to the native population. Manioc roots as well as termites and ants are fed as protein. As a positive and welcomed side effect, the trapping of leafcutter ants reduces damaging of the plantations.

The project proves that, despite all the difficulties, sustainable economic activities and environment conservation, including the native, indigenous population, is possible. The successes of the Indios at the upper Tiquíe persuaded them to pass their experiences to other tribes in the region to open other breeding stations. Today, about 82 of these stations exist. The medium term planning is to establish 80 more stations in the upper Rio Negro region.