Tribal families missing after armed gangs storm rainforest

The same tribe, the Xinane, which had had no contact with the outside world appeared in remarkable footage earlier this year showing them aiming bows and arrows at a plane flying over their jungle home.

But yesterday, after government officials sent to protect them from armed drug traffickers were forced to abandon their post and flee, it was not known where the families were.

It highlights new threats to remote tribes across South America.

Staff at Brazil’s government-run national Indian foundation, Funai, said men from a paramilitary faction from Peru, armed with rifles and machine guns, entered Brazilian territory late last week and surrounded a cut-off jungle post.

A small group of researchers from Funai used the outpost, in Brazil’s Acre state, on its  western border with Peru,  to study and protect isolated indigenous tribes.

The armed men were most certainly trying to kill Indians in the area to make way for illegal logging, or clear new cocaine trafficking routes through the forest from Peru, said FunaiI.

"This is extremely distressing news,” says Stephen Corry, from Survival International, an indigenous tribes rights group based in Britain. “There is no knowing how many tribal peoples the drugs trade has wiped out in the past, but all possible measures should be taken to stop it happening again."

The Funai staff monitoring the tribe fled and the traffickers ransacked their jungle camp before Brazilian police back-up could reach the area.

Police have since retaken control of the base and arrested one man, named as Joaquim Fadista.

But officials are particularly worried at finding an arrow head in one of the trafficker’s abandoned backpacks.

"Arrows are like the identity card of uncontacted Indians,” said Funai’s Carlos Travassos, who heads its of the isolated Indians division. “We think the Peruvians made the Indians flee…We are more concerned than ever,” he told Christian Science Monitor. This could be one of the biggest blows in decades to the work of protecting isolated Indians.

Volunteering in Brazil's Atlantic Rainforest « World Land Trust ...

After visiting REGUA in the heart of Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest, Helen Cavilla could not wait to go back. Taking time off from her job as an Education Officer at Newquay Zoo in Cornwall, Helen has embarked on a six month sabbatical to volunteer at the wildlife reserve.

Newquay Zoo have supported WLT for several years through BIAZA (the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums) and have helped save the BIAZA Reserve, 1,651 acres of Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest, with REGUA.

BIAZA is a professional body representing the best zoos and aquariums in Britain and Ireland. They have been a long-term supporter of WLT and have been instrumental in funding, and encouraging their members to fund, land purchase in Brazil, helping extend REGUA’s reserve.

In December 2010, a group of representatives from BIAZA zoos and aquariums went to see first-hand what was being achieved with their donations . It was on this trip that Helen became passionate about volunteering at the reserve.

Helen will post regular updates about her experience , learning about the challenges that face REGUA as they work tirelessly to protect the Atlantic Rainforest.

“I arrived at the Guapi Assu Bird Lodge on the REGUA Reserve very late at night on 13 June in complete darkness, with the sounds of the forest all around. On waking in the morning a beautiful scene greeted me; forest-covered mountains cloaked in mist , almost blue in the morning light. It wasn’t long before the winter sun burnt off the mist and the stunning surroundings became clear.

“The first morning in the reserve began with a walk through the restored wetlands and the replanted forest – the abundance of wildlife is evident. Everywhere you look and listen there are birds, butterflies, cicadas, capybara, caterpillars, signs of puma and not forgetting the vast array of plant life.

“I have come to REGUA to volunteer for many reasons. The first is to help Nicholas and Raquel, the project managers, with running the lodge; giving them a helping hand looking after the guests who come to stay. Many of the guests are birdwatchers who travel from across the world to spot the 450 plus species that frequent REGUA , many of which are endemic and therefore not found anywhere else on Earth.

“My role as a volunteer will involve hospitality, administration, liaising with REGUA staff and having to speak Portuguese, mas eu nao falo Portugues muito bem atualmente! (But I do not speak Portuguese very well these days!). The staff are very helpful and probably find my Portuguese amusing.

Marina Silva, Defending Rainforest Communities in Brazil

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