News Of Amazon Tribe Underlines Need To Protect Forest Says FRA

Online, June 24, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Forestry Research Associates (FRA) are highlighting news of the discovery of another uncontacted tribe in the depths of the Amazon Rainforest to underline the importance of safeguarding the forests against logging.

The discovery was made after satellite pictures picked up small areas of cleared land within the dense part of the jungle on the border between Brazil and Peru. Brazilian authorities then sent planes to fly over the region, which photographed clear images of straw-roofed huts and people, in April this year.

Brazil works hard to protect its indigenous communities, however isolated they may be, through a foundation called Funai, which works on behalf of these people to protect their rights and their homelands. Some less isolated tribes have suffered at the hands of the logging industry in past years, with deforestation moving closer and closer to their villages, forcing them to move on and change the way of life they had been living for hundreds, or even thousands of years.

FRA, a research and advisory consultancy, said that this finding - together with the fact that another 14 uncontacted tribes are reported to live in the Vale do Javari region alone - further cements the need for alternatives to timber and charcoal from native forests. FRA's analysis partner, Peter Collins, stated, "The Brazilian government has made major headway into protecting its forests from loggers in recent years, including welcoming foreign investment in non-native, sustainable plantations run by businesses such as Greenwood Management."

The regional director for Funai, Fabricio Amorim, said that there are many factors that could threaten the future of such tribes. He explained, "Among the main threats to the well-being of these groups are illegal fishing, hunting, logging, mining, cattle ranching, missionary actions... and drug trafficking."

The official stance that the Brazilian government takes in these situation is to avoid contact with the tribes to enable the continue their way of life undisturbed. Instead they strive to protect their land from afar and passing laws to discourage or criminalize logging is one way in which they are achieving this.