Background:
For nearly five years, the World Bank has been financing the PRODEAGRO
project, an attempt similar to that of the Planafloro project in
neighboring Rondonia to mitigate the serious environmental and cultural
devastation which resulted in Mato Grosso during the 1980's as a result of
the Bank's disastrous Polonoroeste settlement scheme. A mid-term review of
the project by the World Bank in 1996 found it failing miserably in its
stated goals of protecting the environment, guaranteeing the survival of
indigenous peoples, and instilling order in the chaotic situation of
settlements in the Amazon and savannah regions of Mato Grosso.
In December, 1996, non-governmental organizations in Mato Grosso, members
of FORMAD, the state NGO forum, signed an agreement with the World Bank and
state government to administer programs which are part of PRODEAGRO in
order to improve the project's performance and to permit it to attain its
stated goals.
The most urgent situations facing indigenous people in Mato Grosso has been
the invasion of the Sarare' reserve of the Nambikwara people by 8,000 gold
miners (garimpeiros) and loggers. Repeated denunciations of the violence
suffered by the indigenous people at the hands of gold miners armed with
machine guns led to a police operation in January to expel the miners.
Since then, many of the miners have returned and the only action by the
governor of Mato Grosso has been to offer the miners a new area bordering
on the reserve.
Now, the NGO Forum of Mato Grosso has announced it is suspending its
participation in the PRODEAGRO project, and will return only after
permanent measures are undertaken to guarantee the survival of the
Nambikwara Indians.
******************************************************
FORMAD, THE MATO GROSSO ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT FORUM, REQUESTS
ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS TO WRITE THE PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD BANK AND
THE GOVERNOR OF MATO GROSSO TO URGE IMMEDIATE ACTIONS TO DEFEND THE
NAMBIKWARA OF SARARE' RESERVE.
******************************************************
A sample letter to the World Bank and Mato Grosso state government,
followed by the complete text of the resolution by FORMAD, follow:
To: Hon. James Wolfensohn, President, The World Bank
fax: +1-202-522-3031
Exmo. Sr. Dante Martins de Oliveira, Governor of Mato Grosso state
fax: +55-65-644-2212
Dear Sirs:
We are writing to express our extreme concern over the situation of the
Nambikwara indigenous people of the Sarare' Reserve in Mato Grosso. Despite
the availability of funds from the PRODEAGRO project, neither the Bank nor
the state government have yet taken definitive action to halt the invasion
of the reserve and to restore damaged lands within the indigenous area.
We agree with FORMAD, the Mato Grosso NGO forum, that the Bank should
suspend payments as part of PRODEAGRO until fundamental steps may be taken
to guarantee the survival of the Nambikwara.
We hold the World Bank and the Mato Grosso state government responsible for
further agressions against the Nambikwara of Sarare'.
Sincerely,
********************************************************
FORMAD
THE MATO GROSSO ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT FORUM
Rua Batista das Neves, 627 - Centro - Cuiaba'/MT - Cep: 78005-380 Brazil
Phone/Fax: (+55.65) 322-9408
DENUNCIATION OF GENOCIDE OF NAMBIKWARA INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
FORMAD SUSPENDS ITS PARTICIPATION IN NEGOTIATIONS OF WORLD BANK'S PRODEAGRO
PROJECT
The undersigned organizations which comprise FORMAD - the Mato Grosso
Environment and Development Forum have met in a General Assembly on March
20, 1997.
CONSIDERING:
* That FORMAD has worked to contribute toward better results from
components of the PRODEAGRO project over the past three years, with the
goal of benefitting diverse sectors of society in Mato Grosso;
* That through agreements between FORMAD, The World Bank, and the state
government, civil society groups began to actively take part in the process
of evaluating and redirecting the PRODEAGRO project;
* That all efforts by civil society groups, notably by agricultural
families, to this point there have been no guarantees achieved which would
permit effective participation in actions of PRODEAGRO, particularly in the
Program of Direct Support for Community Initatives;
* That it is no longer acceptable that a definitive and sustainable
solution be further delayed for the dramatic social and environmental
situation imposed on the Nambikwara people in the Sarare' Indigenous Area,
caused by gold mining (garimpos) and logging activities there:
As has been publicly communicated, through various formal
denunciations by NGOs, the Sarare' Indigenous Area, located in the sate of
Mato Grosso, Brazil, has been the site of constant invasions by loggers
and, most of all, by gold miners.
These communiques told of serious problems that these invasions
have brought for the Nambikwara people of the Katitaurlu sub-group, who are
the traditional inhabitants of the area.
When the agreement for PRODEAGRO (Program for Agro-Environmental
Development for Mato Grosso state) was signed in 1992, the World Bank made
the program approval subject to the removal of invaders from the indigenous
area.
Today, nearly five years into the PRODEAGRO project, the situation
has not changed, and there continue to be planned and predatory occupations
of the natural habitat of the Indians, causing incalculable damages, and
threatening the survival of the indigenous people.
We must mention that, on November 15, 1996, when a group of loggers
kidnapped, tortured, and sacked the Nambikwara indigenous community of the
Sarare' Indigenous Area, it became apparent that the community had
absolutely no security, and had been, in effect, totally abandoned by
authorities.
Not even the January, 1997 operation which evicted 8,000 gold
miners from the indigenous area served to have the authorities assume
effective control of the situation through programs guaranteeing the
Indians their rights under the Federal Constitution, through programs which
would restore the degraded areas and define a new area for the gold miners
to prevent new invasions.
Today, weekly operations harassing individuals are carried out
without any effect.
* That there has been no effort by the government to respond effectively to
the need to expel the miners and to implement measures to guarantee the
security and survival of the indigenous community and support groups;
* That FORMAD has been unsuccessfully trying for more than a month to meet
with the governor to deal with, among other things, the worsening situation
in the Sarare' Indigenous Area;
* That while the public workers and indigenous support groups working in
the area are suffering aggressions and restrictions on their activities,
the governor is receiving representatives of the gold miners and their
political allies, offering them the possibility of occupying an area
bordering on the Indian reserve, which offers little hope of legal and
environmental sustainability;
* That by making that kind of an offer, the government is confirming its
lack of political will to resolve neither the problem of the Indians, nor
that of the gold miners, who require an economic alternative which is
socially just and environmentally sustainable;
WE HEREBY RESOLVE:
a) That until the question of the Nambikwara people of the Sarare'
Indigenous Area is resolved, we suspend the participation of FORMAD in the
process of revising PRODEAGRO;
b) That we request for the World Bank and the Ministry of Planning and
Budget to cut off negotiations with the Government of Mato Grosso state
regarding the revision and extension of PRODEAGRO until a definitive and
satisfactory solution for the Nambikwara people of the Sarare' Indigenous
Area can be reached.
c) To ask the World Bank to suspend disembursements for PRODEAGRO;
d) To request the World Bank to install an Inspection Panel to investigate
the lack of compliance with the contractual requirement expressed in the
Appraisal which addresses the protection and control of the Sarare'
Indigenous Area;
e) To not sign any documents which are part of the process of revising
PRODEAGRO, since if the program is not meeting even its most fundamental
objectives, and if the partnership between the government and civil society
is not permitted to take place, there will no possibility of implementing
those guidelines proposed and agreed to in the program revision.
FORMAD's further participation in this dialogue will depend on the
Government of the State of Mato Grosso and the World Bank solving the
situation of the Nambikwara people of Sarare' Indigenous Area, which will
mean taking, at least, the following measures:
* Expulsion of invaders from the area once and for all;
* Not permitting the gold miners to install a mine near the Sarare'
Indigenous Area;
* A plan for the restoration of the area damaged by the gold mine.
Given the serious problems and the failure to enforce compliance
with PRODEAGRO's measures regarding indigenous, land, and environmental
issues, FORMAD is preparing a dossier to be delivered to the World Bank's
Inspection Panel.
MEMBERS OF FORMAD:
AEC - ASSOCIACAO DE EDUCACAO CATO'LICA
ACURAB - ASSOCIACAO KURA-BAKAIRI
AME MATO GROSSO - ASSOCIACAO MATO-GROSSENSE DE ECOLOGIA
AMPARA - ASSOCIACAO MATOGROSSENSE DE PROTECAO E RECUPERACAO AMBIENTAL
ARCA - ASSOCIACAO DE RECUPERACAO E CONSERVACAO DO AMBIENTE
BIOCONEXAO - INSTITUTO ECOLOGISTA DE DESENVOLVIMENTO
BIOGENESE - CENTRO PARA CONSERVACAO DA NATUREZA
CDH CACERES - CENTRO DIREITOS HUMANOS "DOM MA'XIMO BIENNES"
CDHHT - CENTRO DE DIREITOS HUMANOS "HENRIQUE TRINDADE"
CDHRO - CENTRO DE DIREITOS HUMANOS "SIMAO BORORO" - RONDONO'POLIS
CODCA - CENTRO ORGANIZACAO DE DEFESA DA CRIANCA E ADOLESCENTE
CIFICA - CENTRO INT. FORM. INTEGRAL CRIANCAS E ADOLESCENTES
CIMI - CONSELHO INDIGENISTA MISSIONA'RIO
CPT - COMISSAO PASTORAL DA TERRA
CUT - CENTRAL U'NICA DOS TRABALHADORES
ECOPANTANAL - INSTITUTO ECOL. E POP. TRADICIONAIS
ECOTROPICA - FUNDACAO DE APOIO VIDA DOS TRO'ICOS
FASE - SUDOESTE MT - FEDERACAO DE APOIO AOS O'RGAOS
FETAGRI - FEDERACAO TRABALHADORES AGRICULTURA
GERA- CENTRO ESTUDOS PANTANAL, AMAZONIA E CERRADO
GSP - GRUPO DE SAU'DE POPULAR
GTME - GRUPO DE TRABALHO MISSIONA'RIO EVANGE'LICO
ICV - INSTITUTO CENTRO DE VIDA
IECLB - IGREJA EVANGE'LICA DE CONFISSAO LUTERANA
IPECA - INSTITUTO DE PESQUISA CURRUPIRA ARARAS
IPESP-INSTITUTO PASTORAL DE EDUCACAO POPULAR
MNMMR - MOVIMENTO NACIONAL DE MENINOS E MENINAS DE RUA CUIABA'
MNMMR - MOVIMENTO NACIONAL DE MENINOS E MENINAS DE RUA CHAPADA
MOPS - MOVIMENTO POPULAR DE SAUDE
OPAN - OPERACAO AMAZONIA NATIVA
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
Glenn Switkes, Director, Latin America Program,
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
South America address:
a/c ICV, Rua 2, no. 203, Bairro Boa Esperanca,
CEP 78.068-360 Cuiaba, MT, Brazil
Tel/Fax: +55 65 627 1689
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*