This is a Brazilian non profitable environmental organization that has been fighting for the rights of indigenous peoples and their lands and natural resources of their country, at a time of great social upheaval and political undermines all the work done in support these communities and environmental health in Brazil and the world, as explains one of the founders Maria Paula Fernandes.
Why you felt the need to create an environmental organization? What was behind your decision?
Maria Paula Fernandes: The ong "A drop in the ocean" was born from the resounding success of the campaign "Gota D'Água 10" in 2011 questioned the construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in Pará Held without any resources or support. Media gathered 1 million signatures in a week in the petition against the project in the Xingu River. Given this response, we conclude that there was a demand for the production of environmental content in mass communication language as a way to supply the little space theme in traditional channels of communication at the time. Our organization, as the name suggests, is collaborative and is to support the citizen as an agent of the company by consistent information, independent and engaging.
The destruction of the Atlantic rainforest for trade issues now does affect indigenous populations in Brazil?
MPF: The destruction of the Atlantic Forest affect all Brazilians because it is an important biome for water production and maintenance of the rain cycle in the country. In the case of the indigenous, we have populations confined in small areas that prevent them from living the traditional way of life, transforming reality in a way that live similarly to the indigent.
What has been the type of intervention of your ecological organization after the environmental disaster caused by the disruption of the Fundão dam?
MPF: Mariana tragedy is the biggest environmental disaster in Brazil's history and comes to highlight the neglect of the organs of control and enforcement are lax with our environmental heritage. In our platform, formed by our page on faceBook, instagram, twitter and newsletter, we treat the subject, randomly and holistically with other issues we work as indigenous rights, climate change, deforestation, energy alternatives, sanitation ... to keep the topic on the agenda, but without being tiring for the audience.
There is after all legislation that protects the indigenous peoples of Brazil? And if there is why it is ineffective? Since only when Funai published a study of the demarcation of the Indigenous Land Sawré Muybu in Pará, where it lives most of the Munduruku people, only then IBAMA suspended the licensing process for hydroelectric plant São Luiz do Tapajós.
MPF: The 1988 Constitution guarantees the traditional direct people to their ancestral lands and maintenance of living. What happens today in Brazil, in short, is that agribusiness is eyeing the last large green areas, which are precisely the Indigenous Lands. As this sector has enormous weight in our trade balance, in addition to financing political campaigns and be major advertiser of the country's media outlets, are these rights are threatened in Congress in the name of development, such as those listed here:
The Proposed Constitutional Amendment (PEC) 215 is one of the most serious threats to the rights guaranteed to indigenous peoples in the Constitution and one of the main instruments of pressure caucus to try to weaken the demarcation process. The PEC want to transfer from the federal government to the Congress the last word on the demarcation of indigenous lands.
The draft Senate Bill (PLS) 654 search weaken the environmental licensing, creating a "summary proceeding" very short, about eight months for the licensing of large projects considered strategic by the government, such as large dams, roads and transmission lines .
The New Mining Code to simplify the procedures for the execution of mining activities, which have, in general, great social and environmental impacts.
The Bill 1610 (PL) aims to regulate mining in indigenous territories.
The PEC 76 gives indigenous participation in the utilization of water resources and mining in Indigenous Lands (TIs). In practice, the proposal aims to open the TIs the installation of power plants, projects with high potential for environmental destruction and the livelihoods of traditional populations.
The PL 1216/2015 and 1218/2015, which seek to change the way they give the TIs demarcation procedures in the country.
The PL 4148 which ends the requirement of transgenics symbol on labels of products with genetically modified ingredients. And since you mecionou the case of IT Sawré Muybu, the incumbent government is threatening to review all studies and ordinances related to IT published by the government Dilma this semester.
How can we reconcile the energy needs of your country with reserved for Indians?
MPF: By our geographical position and territory, Brazil has a huge energy potential in both wind as photovoltaics, besides having other options in smaller scale as from biomass, the huge agricultural production and from the waves, just watch our coast, then we do not move on indigenous lands. Our energy policy also aims to expand the number of dams in the Amazon, but the speech that would be a clean energy no longer deceives no one, especially in the Amazon where there are huge social and environmental impacts. In addition there are studies that show that instead of building new dams could produce much more energy and much less spending simply modernizing hydroelectric plants we already have and invest to modernize our transmission lines. That is, what interests our energy policy is really serving?
With the government's instability in Brasilia how "a drop in the ocean", can prevent the approval of the PEC 65 that practically does away with the requirement of environmental licensing for public works?
MPF: Right now there is a huge information war to take advantage of the enormous political and economic uncertainty, so we are focused on identifying opportunities and offer imorensa traditional access to research and independent experts, in order to provide another point of view these questions to newsrooms.
What actions are intended to take to protect the indigenous communities in your country, a time in Brazil's history of great political and social instability?
MPF: "A Drop In The Ocean" is part of the Communication Commission of the National Indigenous Mobilization and together with other partner organizations, we act coordinately to break the barrier of prejudice and bring the voice of indigenous peoples to the population.
The fact that there are so many obstacles to defense and preserveção the Brazilian indigenous culture is mainly a question of racism?
MPF: There is a strong demoralization campaign of the indigenous population orchestrated by those who identify indigenous rights as an obstacle to their economic interests. The curious thing is that this creates a reverse bias, indigenous peoples are not infringed upon because they are different, but similar, they do not correspond to the archetype of the history books. It is an idea of the kind, if you dress or have a cell phone in your hand, it is not Indian.
