Fear, Crime and Ginger Tea
- 17 May 08, 02:35 PM
Posted from: 2 hours drive from Altamira
We had an amazing day's filming yesterday. We flew by helicopter over the forest with IBAMA, the Brazilian environment police, looking for evidence of illegal logging activity from the air. Forty minutes after take-off we were staring down at a beautiful tract of pristine rainforest, chequered with large rectangular clearings where illegal loggers had plundered mahogany and other protected hardwoods. Dirt tracks cut gashes through the landscape, leading down to the Xingu River where the logs were shipped out to be milled and planked for export.
After spotting a barge loaded with logs from the air, our pilot swooped down and much to our amazement, expertly settled his helicopter on the end of the barge right next to the logs. When the IBAMA official jumped out we were instructed to stay in the aircraft until it was certain there was no chance of violent retaliation from the loggers. While we were waiting the IBAMA pilots told us they'd been shot at on numerous occasions, and had once even had arrows fired at them from the ground by angry indigenous Indians.
The logging barge seen from the air
Once it was safe to get out we caught up with the action. The men found on the barge calmly claimed it was their first time in the forest, and that they were operating under instructions from their boss in Belem. The logs were enormous, and totally illegal, and the whole operation was shut down and a confiscation order placed on all the timber and felling equipment, including a full-sized JCB parked on the boat. The loggers didn't seem bothered in the slightest, as if this happens all the time, and before taking off we shook hands amicably with all of them and thanked them for letting us film. They even signed contributor release forms.
The next location was even friendlier. After ten minutes in the air we came across another illegal logging barge and landed again. These loggers were even less bothered than the last bunch and after we'd been there five minutes we started chatting to them and they kindly offered us tea. While the IBAMA official was busy making notes and taking pictures we stood in the shade of the JCB, sipping delicious ginger tea. It was quite a surreal moment, but very pleasant and relaxed all the same.
The IBAMA helicopter lands on the barge
Illegal loggers are supposed to be the bad guys in this story, destroyers of the rainforest, and drivers of climate change, but these were ordinary people leading a tough life away from their families for months on end, just trying to make a living. They probably found us an unusual distraction from the everyday humdrum of tree felling and once again, as we left, everyone shook hands and patted shoulders and we thanked them for the tea.
The reason they were so unphased by the presence of IBAMA is because this area is, to all intents and purposes, completely lawless. IBAMA will issue a fine, but by their own admission only ten percent of their fines are ever paid. Critics claim the true figure is closer to three percent. Widespread corruption within IBAMA itself means many of the confiscated logs and much of the equipment finds its way back on to the river, and it's back to business as usual for the loggers.
A clearing caused by illegal logging
There is a team of fifteen IBAMA agents here, covering an area roughly the size of France and within a short flight over the forest we found two barges, several logging camps and vast areas of freshly destroyed forest. Brazil's environmental laws are hailed for being among the strictest and most progressive in the world, but the government doesn't seem to be able to enforce them.
We had a brief glimpse into the world of illegal logging and IBAMA's efforts to stop it. But when you consider the sheer scale of the problem they are facing, the excitement of the helicopter flight and the tea party fades away, leaving a slightly bitter taste in the mouth.
Find out more about deforestation.
Comments
or to comment.