The federal government decided to suspend, this Friday (6), the process of hiring a company to dredge the Tapajós River, in Pará.
The decision was communicated in an official note signed by ministers Guilherme Boulos (General Secretariat of the Presidency), Sílvio Costa Filho (Ports and Airports) and Sônia Guajajara (Indigenous Peoples), and is a response to the mobilizations of indigenous peoples, traditional communities and social organizations operating in the region.
For 15 days, led by indigenous people, these groups have been carrying out occupations and protests in Santarém, in the west of Pará. The main claim is the repeal of Decree 12,600published last year by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, which provides for the concession of the Tapajós River waterway to the private sector.
The waterway mode is considered an important logistical corridor for transporting agribusiness products, but faces resistance from communities located in riverside areas. It is estimated that around 7 thousand indigenous people, from 14 different ethnicities, live in Baixo Tapajós, according to the Tapajós Arapiuns Indigenous Council (CITA), which represents the people of the region.
In the government note, the ministers inform that the suspension of dredging works is a gesture of negotiation, but the project is not directly related to the waterway concession.
“It is important to mention that the dredging works announced by the Ministry of Ports and Airports constitute a routine action, carried out in previous years, and respond to the need to guarantee river traffic on the Tapajós Waterway during periods of low water levels. In other words, these works are not related to the waterway concession studies, provided for in Decree 12,600”, says the statement.
Protest at COP30
Last year, after the protest by Muduruku indigenous people who blocked entry to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP30), in Belém, the government committed to carrying out the prior consultation to the people of the Tapajós River about the waterway project in the region. This commitment was once again reinforced in the note signed by the ministers.
“In relation to the claims presented, the federal government publicly reiterates the commitment made during COP30 that any and all projects linked to the Tapajós River waterway will be preceded by free, prior and informed consultation, in accordance with Convention No. 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO)”, says the text.
working group
Furthermore, in view of the mobilizations of indigenous peoples, the federal government confirmed the sending of representatives to Santarém, to establish a negotiation process with the protesters, with monitoring by the Federal Public Ministry (MPF).
The establishment of an interministerial working group was also announced, with the participation of federal public administration bodies and entities, as well as representatives appointed by the indigenous peoples of the Tapajós River region with the purpose of discussing, systematizing and guiding free, prior and informed consultation processes.
The other commitment made is to present a schedule of the prior consultation processes on the concession of the Tapajós waterway, in dialogue with the communities.
Socio-environmental risks
In a note, the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (Coiab) expressed support for indigenous mobilizations and criticized the waterway concession project to the private sectorwhich can cause serious impacts on traditional territories, ways of life and spirituality of people.
“The entity also warns of the environmental and social risks associated with dredging the Tapajós River, such as impacts on fishing, bank erosion, resuspension of contaminants and irreversible damage to one of the main ecological corridors in the Amazon, without the presentation of complete environmental impact studies to the affected communities,” said Coiab.
