Join us on Feb 6 from 6:30-9 pm for a Bay Area Tropical Forest Network (BATFN) event held at the Goldman School of Public Policy at U.C. Berkeley.

The topic is “Threats and risks for socioenvironmental agendas, indigenous peoples, and the conservation of the Brazilian Amazon under the Bolsonaro government.” Doors open at 6:30 with drinks, snacks, and networking, while the talk will begin around 7:15 pm, followed by discussion.

Environmental and indigenous issues NGOs in Brazil have always been on the front lines of the struggle for the recognition of indigenous territorial rights and the protection of indigenous and other traditional people’s livelihoods, working in close partnership with the country’s indigenous movements. Many have also been instrumental in forest and biodiversity conservation efforts. Their history of struggle and success in achieving indigenous rights and environmental conservation have made these NGOs a target for the populist, extreme-right government recently elected in Brazil. In less than one month in power, a government responsive to the interests of the rural landowning interest group, historic enemies of indigenous peoples and forests, has already led to setbacks in indigenous rights, environmental protection and the defamation of NGOs. Although still unmeasured, consequences such as the invasion of tens of indigenous territories by loggers and miners in the Amazon are already taking place, resulting in human conflict and the elimination of core mechanisms for forest protection—environmental licensing and the demarcation of indigenous lands. The work done by NGOs and the fight carried out by indigenous movements are under attack by the principal decision-makers in the country. I will describe and discuss some of the policy changes wrought by the new government, and the consequences for territorial integrity, environmental protection and human rights, and the options open to NGOs and their indigenous partners to respond to this change in context.

Andreia Bavaresco, Technical Coordinator, Brazil International Institute for Education (Instituto Internacional de Educação do Brasil). Andreia has an undergraduate degree in Forest Management and a Master’s in Sustainable Development form the University of Brasilia. Prior to and since joining IEB in 2010, she has supported or led environmental and governance projects with more than twenty indigenous peoples in Brazil. She specializes in the design and implementation of interdisciplinary, village-based training programs that enhance indigenous and traditional people’s capacity to manage their lands, resources, and livelihoods in the context of Brazilian public policy.

ONGs ambientalistas na mira do Governo Bolsonaro: ameaças e riscos as agendas socioambientais, povos indígenas e preservação da Amazonia.

A atuação das ONGs ambientalistas e indigenistas no Brasil em estreita parceria e dialogo com os movimentos indígenas sempre estiveram na linha de frente das lutas pela conquista pelo reconhecimento dos direitos territoriais e pela manutenção dos modos de vida dos povos indígenas e comunidades tradicionais brasileiras. Esse histórico de conquistas colocaram as ONGs como alvo do governo populista e de extrema direita que recentemente assumiu o poder no Brasil. Retrocessos nos direitos conquistados e difamação do trabalho das ONGs ja se fazem sentir em menos de um mês de atuação de um governo militarizado e que atende aos interesses dos inimigos históricos dos índios e das florestas, os ruralistas. Consequências, ainda não mensuradas, como a invasão de dezenas de terras indígenas por madeireiros e garimpeiros para exploração dos cobiçados recursos naturais da Amazonia ja são uma realidade com tendencias de surgimento de conflitos e a pulverização dos principais mecanismos de proteção da floresta, como o licenciamento ambiental e a demarcação de Terras Indígenas. O trabalho das ONGs e a luta dos movimentos indígenas estão sob ataque dos principais tomadores de decisão no pais.

Andreia Bavaresco – Coordenadora Tecnica do Instituto Internacional de Educação do Brasil e Mestre em Desenvolvimento Sustentável pela Universidade de Brasilia

Admission is free and open to all, with refreshments (including wine and beer) courtesy of the Bay Area Tropical Forest Network and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

WHEN:
February 6 from 6:30-9 pm

WHERE:
Goldman School of Public Policy: Living room
University of California
2607 Hearst Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94720-7320