Brazil's President Temer says the move will stimulate economic activity and will abide by environment protection laws.

The government of Brazil has abolished a vast national reserve bigger than the size of Denmark to open the area to commercial mineral exploration, drawing sharp criticism from environmentalists and political opponents.

The area, which straddles the northern states of Amapa and Para, is thought to contain rich deposits of gold, iron, manganese and other minerals.

A decree from President Michel Temer published in the official government gazette on Wednesday dissolved the protected area, known as the National Reserve of Copper and Associates (Renca).

Established in 1984 under the then military dictatorship, the protected status of the reserve, which covered roughly 4.6m hectares (17,800 square miles) restricted mining activities to state companies.

Temer has been seeking to stimulate economic activity as Latin America's top economy emerges from the worst economic crisis in more than a century.

Wednesday's decree stressed that it does not override other existing environmental protection laws, such as protections for native vegetation and nature conservation areas.

But campaign groups such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have expressed concern about the environmental threat to the reserve from potential mining projects.

Brazilian newspaper O Globo quoted Michel de Souza, the public policy coordinator of WWF-Brazil, as saying that the decree is a "catastrophe".

"The Amazon Forest is our biggest asset. In this moment of despair and crisis, they are putting at risk the protected areas that are within the reserve," de Souza said.

Last month, the executive director of WWF-Brazil Mauricio Voivodic warned of the damages that mining would bring to the reserve.

"Despite the strong economic appeal, the development of mining activity may bring undesirable impacts to the Renca protected areas, such as deforestation, threats to indigenous people and populations, water resource loss, loss of biodiversity, and aggravation of land conflicts," Voivodic said.

More than two-thirds of the Renca area that lies in Amapa state are subject to conservation controls or protections for indigenous areas that would limit mining, leaving only 31 percent open to research and exploration after the area's abolition, according to a 2010 government report.

In April, a report by the mining ministry said that lifting the protected status could provide "access to minerals potentially existing in the region" by letting private companies operate there.

Yet, some politicians criticised the decree as an act of devastation to the Amazon.

According to O Globo newspaper, opposition Senator Randolfe Rodrigues decried the move as "the biggest attack on the Amazon of the last 50 years". </s> Brasilia: The Brazilian government has abolished a vast national reserve in the Amazon rainforest to open up the area to mining despite strong opposition from environmental activists, the media reported on Thursday.

President Michel Temer on Wednesday signed a decree which abolished the protected area known as the National Reserve of Copper and Associates (Renca), reports the BBC.

The area, covering 46,000 sq.km., comprises the northern states of Amapa and Para, and is thought to be rich in gold and other minerals.

The decree said nine conservation and indigenous land areas within it would continue to be legally protected.

"The objective of the measure is to attract new investments, generating wealth for the country and employment and income for society, always based on the precepts of sustainability," the ministry said in a statement.

Its size is larger than Denmark and about 30 per cent of it will be open to mining.

But Maurício Voivodic, head of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Brazil, warned that mining in the area would lead to "demographic explosion, deforestation, the destruction of water resources, the loss of biodiversity and the creation of land conflict", the BBC reported.

According to a WWF report, the main area of interest for copper and gold exploration is in one of the protected areas, the Biological Reserve of Maicuru.

There is also said to be gold in the Para State forest, which lies within the area.

The statement said that there was a potential for conflict too in two indigenous reserves that are home to various ethnic communities living in relative isolation.

WWF`s report said than a "gold rush in the region could create irreversible damage to these cultures".

"If the government insisted on opening up these areas for mining without discussing environmental safeguards it will have to deal with an international outcry." </s> President dissolves Renca to attract investment in region thought to contain gold as critics warn of irreversible damage

The Brazilian president Michel Temer has abolished an Amazonian reserve the size of Denmark, prompting concerns of an influx of mineral companies, road-builders and workers into the species-rich forest.

The dissolution of the Renca reserve – which spans 46,000 sq km on the border of the Amapa and Para states – was described by one opposition senator Randolfe Rodrigues of the Sustainability Network party, as the “biggest attack on the Amazon of the last 50 years”.



Conservationists said it will open the door for mining companies to enter Renca – the Portuguese acronym for the National Reserve of Copper and Associates – which was set up in 1984 and encompasses nine protected areas.



Norway issues $1bn threat to Brazil over rising Amazon destruction Read more

More than 20 domestic and multinational firms have expressed an interest in the region which is thought to contain deposits of gold, copper, tantalum, iron ore, nickel and manganese.



The government said the reserve is being abolished to attract foreign investment, improve exports and boost an economy that has been struggling to emerge from its deepest recession in decades.

It claimed the change of status would not affect conservation areas and indigenous territories in the region, but Amazon activists warned commercial exploitation by big companies in the past has been followed by illegal land grabbers, artisanal miners and road builders.

Christian Poirier of Amazon Watch said Temer’s decision had to be seen in the context of wider efforts by his government to erode protected areas, weaken environmental licensing, and diminish indigenous rights in the interests of wealthy supporters in the extractive industries.

“The abolition of Renca will wreak havoc on the forest and indigenous communities in the interests of the small group of economically powerful groups who are keeping Temer in power,” he said. “This is the largest assault so far in a package of threats.”

“A gold rush in the region will create irreversible damage to local cultures,” warned Mauricio Voivodic, executive director of WWF-Brazil. “In addition to demographic exploitation, deforestation, loss of biodiversity and water resources, this could lead to an intensification of land conflicts and threats to indigenous peoples and traditional populations.”

Gisele Bündchen (@giseleofficial) VERGONHA!Estão leiloando nossa Amazônia! Não podemos destruir nossas áreas protegidas em prol de interesses privados https://t.co/WvtHdaKYYX

Since plotting the impeachment of his running mate Dilma Rousseff last year, Temer has moved rapidly to unravel environmental protections to please the powerful agricultural and mining lobbies. The only pause in this policy came earlier this year when Temer vetoed a bill that would have opened up swathes of forest to development. At the time, the president said he was responding to an appeal on Twitter by the supermodel, Gisele Bündchen.

But Temer has since approved several similar measures, including the latest one this week, which prompted an angry response from Bündchen. “SHAME! We are auctioning off our Amazon! We can’t destroy our protected areas for private interests,” she tweeted. </s> Dozens of gold miners have invaded a remote indigenous reserve in the Brazilian Amazon where a local leader was stabbed to death and have taken over a village after the community fled in fear, local politicians and indigenous leaders said. The authorities said police were on their way to investigate.

Illegal gold mining is at epidemic proportions in the Amazon and the heavily polluting activities of garimpeiros – as miners are called – devastate forests and poison rivers with mercury. About 50 garimpeiros were reported to have invaded the 600,000-hectare Waiãpi indigenous reserve in the state of Amapá on Saturday.

The men were spotted days after the murder of Emyra Waiãpi, a community leader, whose body was found near the village of Mariry early on Wednesday.

Indigenous people evacuated Mariry and fled to the bigger village of Aramir, where shots were fired on Saturday. Indigenous leaders and local politicians have called for urgent police help, fearing a bloodbath.

“The garimpeiros invaded the indigenous village and are there until today. They are heavily armed, they have machine guns. That is why we asking for help from the federal police,” said Kureni Waiãpi (26) a member of the tribe who lives in the nearest town of Pedra Branca do Amapari, two hours away and 189km from Amapá state capital Macapa. “If nothing is done they will start to fight.”

“We have a very tense situation,” said Beth Pelaes, mayor of Pedra Branca do Amapari, who said the tribe was very traditional and allowed only authorised visitors.

The crisis was revealed on Saturday by Randolfe Rodrigues, a senator for Amapá state, who received desperate audio messages pleading for police and army help from Jawaruwa Waiãpi, a local councillor and leader. Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso was among those who shared the tribe’s appeal for help on Saturday.

“I ask the Brazilian authorities for help, in the name of the dignity of Brazil in the world, hear this cry,” Veloso said in a video recorded in Mexico City, where he is on tour.

Kureni Waiãpi said Brazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro had encouraged invasions like this. “It is because he, the president, is threatening the indigenous peoples of Brazil,” he said.

Senator Rodrigues blamed Bolsonaro’s repeated promises to allow mining on protected indigenous reserves, where it is currently prohibited, for the first invasion of Waiãpi land in decades. In the 1970s, the tribe was almost wiped out by disease after their land was invaded by gold prospectors. In 2017, the then president Michel Temer moved to open the vast Renca reserve the tribe’s land falls within to mining but backed off after an international outcry.

“The Jair Bolsonaro government is encouraging this conflict, encouraging garimpeiros to enter. Their hands are dirty,” Senator Rodrigues said.

Recently Bolsonaro compared indigenous people living traditional lives on their reserves to “prehistoric men”. On Saturday he once again talked up the mineral riches in the Raposa Serra do Sol and Yanomami reserves – currently inundated with thousands of garimpeiros.

“I’m looking for the ‘first world’ to explore these areas in partnership and add value. That’s the reason for my approximation with the United States. That’s why I want a person of trust in the embassy in the USA,” Bolsonaro said on Saturday, according to the O Globo newspaper. His plans to appoint his congressman son, Eduardo, as Brazil’s US ambassador have caused an outcry in Brazil.

Kureni Waiãpi said the body of Emyra Waiãpi was found with stab wounds early on Wednesday morning in a river near his village of Mariry. On Friday, local man Arawyra Waiãpi and his wife spotted a group of men they believed to be garimpeiros at their plantation near the village. The community fled to the bigger village of Aramira. Shots were fired near Aramira around 6pm local time on Saturday but nobody was hurt. “I think the garimpeiros are shooting to scare the Waiãpi,” Kureni Waiãpi said.

Federal and Amap police were heading to the area, a spokeswoman from Brazil’s indigenous agency Funai said. “For now there are no records of conflict, although a death has been confirmed, but no details of the circumstances. The place is difficult to access,” she said.

The state government of Amapá said it was “engaging all efforts to support federal police in the investigation” and had sent an elite troop of police to accompany officers sent to the area.– Guardian </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption The Wajãpi indigenous community live in a remote area in northern Brazil

Heavily armed gold miners have invaded a remote indigenous reserve in northern Brazil and stabbed to death one of its leaders, officials say.

Residents of the village in Amapá state fled in fear and there were concerns violent clashes could erupt if they tried to reclaim the gold-rich land.

Police have arrived in the area.

Tensions in the Amazon region are on the rise as far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who is against the reserves, vows to open some of them to mining.

Mr Bolsonaro says the indigenous territories are too big given the number of people living there, and critics accuse him of encouraging illegal mining and invasions of reserves.

The group of 10 to 15 heavily armed miners overran the village Yvytotõ of the Wajãpi community and "tensions were high", according to Brazil's indigenous rights agency, Funai.

The residents fled to the Mariry village, some 40 minutes away by foot, and have been warned not to try to come into any contact with the invaders.

Based on accounts from the Wajãpi, Funai said the miners had killed 68-year-old Emyra Wajãpi, whose body was found with stab marks in a river near Mariry on Wednesday. It said, though, it had not been to the crime scene because of the difficulty of access.

Despite the rising tensions, killings of indigenous leaders in Brazil are rare.

The incident appears to confirm the worst fears for the fate of Brazil's protected indigenous territories, the BBC's Julia Carneiro in Rio reports.

Federal police and an elite force arrived in the area on Sunday, and both the federal police and the federal prosecutors' office said they will investigate the events, reported by a local leader on Saturday.

"This is the first violent invasion in 30 years since the demarcation of the indigenous reserves in Amapá," Senator Rodolfe Rodrigues told local newspaper Diário do Amapá (in Portuguese), warning of a "blood bath".

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau are among groups that say Brazil's president wants to allow deforestation in protected areas

The 1,200 members of the Wajãpi community live in dozens of villages in a 600,000-hectare reserve in Amapá, next to French Guiana.

Speaking earlier on Saturday, Mr Bolsonaro said some of the indigenous territories were on "very rich [mineral] land" and that he was "looking for the 'first world' to explore these areas in partnership and add value," according to O Globo newspaper (in Portuguese).

"That's the reason for my decision to get closer to the US. That's why I want a person of trust in the embassy in the US," said Mr Bolsonaro, who wants to appoint his own congressman son, Eduardo, as ambassador.

He has not commented on the events in Amapá.

Mr Bolsonaro, who took office in January, has promised to integrate indigenous people into the rest of the population and questioned the existence of their protected territories, which are rights guaranteed in the country's Constitution.

The president has also criticised the environmental protection agency, Ibama, and accused the national space institute, Inpe, of lying about the scale of deforestation in the Amazon.

Activists say the relaxation of the protections could lead to greater deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and threaten the existence of indigenous people. </s> BRASILIA – Heavily armed gold miners have invaded a remote indigenous reserve in northern Brazil and stabbed to death one of its leaders, officials say.

Residents of the village in Amapá state fled in fear and there were concerns violent clashes could erupt if they tried to reclaim the gold-rich land. Police have arrived in the area.

Tensions in the Amazon region are on the rise as President Jair Bolsonaro, who is against the reserves, vows to open some of them to mining.

Mr Bolsonaro says the indigenous territories are too big given the number of people living there, and critics accuse him of encouraging illegal mining and invasions of reserves.

The group of 10 to 15 heavily armed miners overran the village Yvytotõ of the Wajãpi community and “tensions were high”, according to Brazil’s indigenous rights agency, Funai.

The residents fled to the Mariry village, some 40 minutes away by foot, and have been warned not to try to come into any contact with the invaders.

Based on accounts from the Wajãpi, Funai said the miners had killed 68-year-old Emyra Wajãpi, whose body was found with stab marks in a river near Mariry on Wednesday. It said, though, it had not been to the crime scene because of the difficulty of access.

Despite the rising tensions, killings of indigenous leaders in Brazil are rare.

The incident appears to confirm the worst fears for the fate of Brazil’s protected indigenous territories. Federal police and an elite force arrived in the area on Sunday, and both the federal police and the federal prosecutors’ office said they will investigate the events, reported by a local leader on Saturday.

“This is the first violent invasion in 30 years” since the demarcation of the indigenous reserves in Amapá,” Senator Rodolfe Rodrigues told local newspaper Diário do Amapá (in Portuguese), warning of a “blood bath”.

The 1.200 members of the Wajapi community live in dozens of villages in a 600,000-hectare reserve in Amapá, next to French Guiana.

Speaking earlier on Saturday, Bolsonaro said some of the indigenous territories were on “very rich meneral land” and that he was “looking for the ‘first world’ to explore these areas in partnership and add value,” according to O Globo newspaper.

“That’s the reason for my decision to get closer to the US. That’s why I want a person of trust in the embassy in the US,” said Bolsonaro, who wants to appoint his own congressman son, Eduardo, as ambassador.–MercoPress </s> Around 50 gold miners have invaded a remote indigenous reserve in the Brazilian Amazon, taking over a village after a local leader was stabbed to death.

Dozens of gold miners – known as ‘garimpeiros’ – were sighted mere days after the murder of community leader Emyra Waiãpi, whose body was found close to the the village of Mariry on Wednesday, July 24.

Local politicians and indigenous leaders reported gold miners invaded on Saturday, July 27, causing the traditional community to flee from the 600,000-hectare Waiãpi indigenous reserve in fear. They headed over to the larger village of Aramirã, where shots were fired on the same day.

As reported by The Guardian, both Indigenous leaders and local politicians are now fearful of a potential bloodbath, calling upon police officers for urgent assistance.

Tribe member Kureni Waiãpi, 26 – who lives in the nearby town of Pedra Branca do Amapari – told The Guardian:

The garimpeiros invaded the indigenous village and are there until today. They are heavily armed, they have machine guns. That is why we asking for help from the federal police, If nothing is done they will start to fight.

On Saturday July 27, Amapá state senator Randolfe Rodrigues raised the alarm about this crisis after receiving requests for immediate police and army assistance from local councillor and leader Jawaruwa Waiãpi.

I want to thank the director general of the Federal Police, Ranucci Júnior, for attending to our requests and relocating a PF contingent to the land of the Waijãpis, invaded by prospectors at dawn in Amapá. The situation is very serious! We are attentive to the defence of indigenous peoples.

On the very same day the indigenous community fled from their village, President Jair Bolsonaro publicly defended the exploitation of minerals in indigenous areas, as reported by O Globo.

Speaking at the graduation of 26th Parachute Infantry Battalion skydiving recruits in the West Zone of Rio, the divisive president made the following remarks:

Bolsonaro has repeatedly criticised the indigenous communities of Brazil, and has also taken aim at those trying to preserve the Amazon.

As reported by The Guardian, a spokesperson from Brazil’s indigenous agency FUNAI said Federal and Amapá police were heading to the area where the crisis is unfolding:

The state government of Amapá has reportedly sent an elite police troop to accompany officers who are heading over to the remote area.

If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via [email protected] </s> Dozens of armed miners have invaded a remote indigenous reserve in northern Brazil and stabbed to death at least one of its leaders, officials say.

Residents of a village in Amapá state fled in fear but a community leader said they could try to reclaim it, warning of the risk of violent clashes.

Police have been sent to the area.

Tensions in the Amazon region are on the rise as far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has vowed to open some of the protected areas to mining.

Mr Bolsonaro says the indigenous territories are too big given the number of people living there. Critics accuse him of encouraging illegal mining and invasions of reserves.
• 'We fight for the right to exist'
• Is the Amazon facing new dangers?

On Saturday, Jawaruwa Wajãpi, a leader of the Wajãpi community, said the miners had occupied the Mariry village. He pleaded with the federal government to send in the army.

"[The miners] are armed with rifles and other weapons. We're in danger," he said in a voice message sent to Rodolfe Rodrigues, one of the state's senators. "There's risk of [more] deaths and conflict because I think the Wajãpi will act soon."

Mr Rodrigues, whose party opposes the Bolsonaro government, said 50 miners had invaded the reserve, and that the situation was "very serious".

"This [would be] the first violent invasion in 30 years since the demarcation of the indigenous reserves in Amapá," he told local newspaper Diário do Amapá, saying a "blood bath" could happen (in Portuguese).

Despite the rising tensions, killings of indigenous leaders are rare. The assassinated indigenous leader has been identified as Emyra Wajãpi, whose body was found with stab marks in a river near Mariry on Wednesday.

On Saturday night, Brazil's indigenous rights agency, Funai, said the federal police and an elite force had been sent to the area to investigate. It confirmed that one person had been killed, but said the details were not yet clear.

The 1,200 members of the Wajãpi community live in dozens of villages in a 600,000-hectare reserve in Amapá, next to the French Guiana.

Speaking earlier on Saturday, Mr Bolsonaro said some of the indigenous territories were on "very rich [mineral] land" and that he was "looking for the 'first world' to explore these areas in partnership and add value," according to O Globo newspaper (in Portuguese).

"That's the reason for my decision to get closer to the US. That's why I want a person of trust in the embassy in the US," said Mr Bolsonaro, who wants to appoint his own congressman son, Eduardo, as ambassador.

He has not commented on the events in Amapá.

Mr Bolsonaro, who took office in January, has promised to integrate indigenous people into the rest of the population and questioned the existence of their protected territories.

He has already transferred the creation and limitation of reserves from Funai to the agriculture ministry, a controversial decision that was seen as a victory for the powerful agribusiness sector.

The president has also criticised the environmental protection agency, Ibama, and accused the national space institute, Inpe, of lying about the scale of deforestation in the Amazon.

Activists say the relaxation of the protections could lead to greater deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and threaten the existence of indigenous people. </s> "The Jair Bolsonaro government is encouraging this conflict

local politicians and indigenous leaders said. The authorities said police were on their way to investigate.About 50 garimpeiros were reported to have invaded the 600,000-hectare Waiãpi indigenous reserve in the state of Amapá on Saturday.The men were spotted days after the murder of Emyra Waiãpi, a community leader, whose body was found near the village of Mariry early on Wednesday.Indigenous people evacuated Mariry and fled to the bigger village of Aramirã - where shots were fired on Saturday. Indigenous leaders and local politicians have called for urgent police help, fearing a bloodbath., they have machine guns. That is why we asking for help from the federal police," said Kureni Waiãpi, 26, a member of the tribe who lives in the nearest town of Pedra Branca do Amapari, two hours away and 189km from Amapá state capital Macapá. "If nothing is done they will start to fight.""We have a very tense situation," said Beth Pelaes, mayor of Pedra Branca do Amapari, who said the tribe are very traditional and allow only authorised visitors.The crisis was revealed on Saturday by Randolfe Rodrigues, aBrazilian singer Caetano Veloso was among those who shared the tribe's appeal for help on Saturday."I ask the Brazilian authorities for help, in the name of the dignity of Brazil in the world, hear this cry," Veloso said in a video recorded in Mexico City, where he is on tour.Kureni Waiãpi said Brazil's far-right president Jair Bolsonaro had encouraged invasions like this. "It is because he, the president, is threatening the indigenous peoples of Brazil," he said., where it is currently prohibited, for the first invasion of Waiãpi land in decades. In the 1970s, the tribe was almost wiped out by disease after their land was invaded by gold prospectors. In 2017, the then-president Michel Temer moved to open the vast Renca reserve the tribe's land falls within to mining but backed off after an international outcry., encouraging garimpeiros to enter. Their hands are dirty," Senator Rodrigues said.On Saturday he once again talked up the mineral riches in the Raposa Serra do Sol and Yanomami reserves - currently inundated with thousands of garimpeiros."I'm looking for the 'first world' to explore these areas in partnership and add value. That's the reason foron Saturday, according to the O Globo newspaper.Kureni Waiãpi said the body of Emyra Waiãpa was found with stab wounds early on Wednesday morning in a river near his village of Mariry. On Friday, local man Arawyra Waiãpa and his wife spotted a group of men they believed to be garimpeiros at their plantation near the village. The community fled to the bigger village of Aramirã. Shots were fired near Aramirã around 6pm local time on Saturday but nobody was hurt.Kureni Waiãpi said.Federal and Amapá police were heading to the area, a spokeswoman from Brazil's indigenous agency FUNAI said. "For now there are no records of conflict, although a death has been confirmed, but no details of the circumstances. The place is difficult to access," she said.The state government of Amapá said it was "engaging all efforts to support federal police in the investigation" and had sent an elite troop of police to accompany officers sent to the area.
Brazilian President Michel Temer abolishes the 46,000 km2 National Reserve of Copper and Associates (Renca) ecological reserve, which spans the borders of Amapá and Pará states in northern Brazil. More than 20 domestic and multinational firms have expressed an interest in accessing the area's deposits of gold, copper, tantalum, iron ore, nickel and manganese.