Fighting fire with fire, Amazon 'forest guardians' stalk loggers by umarcelino leobenassatto
They suspect a caravan of illegal loggers felling trees on their reservation. The police are not coming, but the natives have a plan to fight back.Guajajara indians spend time at a makeshift camp.
By day, most guardians carve out an existence farming manioc, rice and other staples in the Arariboia Indigenous Territory, a humid, 1,600-square-mile stretch of rainforest in the northeastern Brazilian state of Maranhao. The rest of Maranhao has lost most of its original rainforest over the past century.
Fires in the Amazon, which often follow deforestation, are also up around 50% this year, according to government data, spurring global outcry at the response of Brazil's right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro.The president has said the country's indigenous reservations are too expansive. He has called for mining and industrial farming on tribal land and weakened environmental regulator Ibama, according to workers at the agency.
Local law enforcement agencies have recognized the guardians' work in flagging illegal activity and presenting evidence. However, officials say that vigilantism is not the best method for dealing with the issue.A "forest guardian" detains a logger during a search on Arariboia indigenous land. When the trucks arrive, the guardians block the road with a 4x4 of their own. The loggers, who number around eight, fire a gunshot. The guardians fire back, and the loggers scatter into the forest.
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