Jukka Pääkkönen
Translated by Linus Atarah
A small piece of the earth's lungs is once again saved as residents of Gleba Lago Grande in November agreed on a land use plan for their collective land that protect humans and nature.
The first ships have already arrived during the night. The bows are firmly fastened on the white sandy beach of the Arapiuns Lake. On the deck and below it people are sleeping in hammocks tightly packed together.
The sleep is deep after a day's long trip - only those travellers unused to it are awoken at dawn by howler monkeys settling their differences.
As soon as day breaks more vessels are curving into the gentle cove beach of the Urucurea: canoes carved from a single log, water boats, small and big water buses of Amazon, whose appearances reminds one of Saimaa's tar steam without smoke pipes. People come from the nearby villages or several kilometres away from the upper course of the Arapiuns River.
What lies ahead is several hours of sitting outside and sometimes in the relentless heat. Yet the mood is pleasurable and a little festive.
The population of the new gathering area of Lago Grande will today approve common regulations for the area. A small piece of world environmental history is once again being made at the Brazilian Amazon plagued by assassins, illegal loggers, political power struggle and human greed.
Sustainable limits for resource use
President of the agricultural workers union (STR) of Santarem Ivete Bastos and his companion "Peixe", Manoel Edivaldo Santos, are excited. The organization has been working for several months to ensure that the new plan for land use is prepared as democratically as possible and that all of the wishes of the village communities are included.
A lot of work has gone into travelling round the villages by the river and in the rainforest. Trade union organizers have repeatedly preached for co-operation and combining forces. It is the only resource and the last means for the dispossessed to protest against deforesting the Amazon - the timber, cattle and soya companies.
A proposal to transfer close to 300 000 hectares of land of the Grand Lago region to the collective control of the people is a result of the hard preparatory work. The area is equivalent to four times the land area of Helsinki metropolitan area.
A resident's association, FEAGLE, has been formed to oversee the use of land and natural resources. The association is holding a general meeting in Urucurea village.
When the people approve the land use plan it goes up to IBAM, the federal government's environmental office, to be confirmed as well as to INCRA, the institution responsible for new settlements and land reform.
A sustainable limit on the use of natural resources in the area of Lago Grande is secured through a generally approved plan endorsed by the authorities. In this way the preservation the rainforest is secured as well as resources for people in the area and a moderate income, activists and environment officials explain.
In a meeting of 2000 people official/formal participants are roughly 1400. Even though there is enthusiasm, the land use plan has its critics. Many people find it difficult to accept that only ten per cent of the land area can be used for farming and cattle rearing. The model is the same as the land reform programme of INCRA. A new settler family receives 100 hectares of land of which 10 hectares can be used for farming. The rest must be held as rainforest and must not be logged.
The land reform is however vulnerable. A handsome offer from a wealthy timber company or simply a direct threat will set many new settlers leaving behind their holdings and moving into the city. The next thing is the forest left behind without an owner soon disappears into more valuable processed timber. Soon the original rainforest is no more, so that without any longer preservation pressures it can be turned to cattle rearing or soya farm.
Many people argue in the Urucurea village square shaded by great cashew plants, why is there the need to limit fishing and hunting and why precisely this or that old method of fishing is not allowed. Explanations are heard and after six sweaty hours Lago Grande's land use plan is accepted in some form of the original accompanied by applause.
Ivete Bastos thought she was jubilant but appears sad. The reason is all too common: twice the number of people turned up, the food ran short and the organisers got heavily criticised.
SASK's partner on the hit list of big land owners
In the heat of the meeting the STR leadership duo Bastos and Edivaldo rise to the podium every now then to answer questions and courageously defend the project in front of critics.
In the case of Bastos the world courageous has special significance, because she has been for a long time on the hit list of big land owners due to his activities.
Death and torture threats from hoarse voices shouted down the telephone, as well as delivered in some other way have increased as the Lago Grande project has moved closer to being realised. The threats cannot be taken lightly because in the last two years about 30 land reform activists have been murdered in the Amazons.
Time is perhaps running out on the gunslingers -
pistoleros - and their pay masters, leaders of agricultural workers union believe. A change in political power has also reduced the pressure: those in power in the state of Paran as well as Santarem municipal council are dye-in-the wool supporters of President
Lula da Silva. Lula's environmental minister
Marina Silva is a former house help and a rubber collector from the neighbouring state of Acre.
There is enough work in the Amazons As the meeting comes to an end, two sweaty visitors lie especially pleased on the sweltering boat beach.
Maija Venäläinen and
Pekka Ihalainen, president and executive director, respectively of the Central Union of Environmental Experts (YKL), have been witnessing how little amount of money can provide momentum to big issues.
A first task after having joined SASK YKL began as benefactor and partial funder of the Santarem project. The project is among the smallest of SASK's programme with an annual budget of less than
20 000€.
To the Agricultural workers Union it is a big sum. Bastos and Edivaldo testified during their visit that without support STR would not have in any way, been capable of implementing its Lago Grande's training and organisational project. And without the support of the inhabitants and awareness, the whole area would have remained illegalised, Ivete Bastos knows.
Ihalainen claims that he has experienced a revelation and intends in the future to rally other Finnish organisation behind the project. There is enough work available: beside Lago Grande in the headwaters of Arapiuns Lake lies the next target area of STR, Nova Olinda. Organising the village communities there is due to begin this year.
