Thur 04 Nov, 20:00 – Amazonia meets Amsterdam: Indigenous and criminological perspectives on the Amazon rainforest

The first Peoples of the Rainforest Film Festival take place on 4, 5 and 6 November. On the program, films made by indigenous and non-indigenous filmmakers and also films about non-traditional peoples who live and survive in the Brazilian Amazon forest.

The purpose of this night is not only to discuss deforestation problems, but also to have a dialogue between people from the Amazon and people from the urbanized western world, such as Amsterdam. The week of the UN climate summit is a good time to have this exchange.

Central guest of the night will be shaman Kamarati, spiritual leader of the Noke Koi (Katukina) people of the state of Acre in the Brazilian Amazon. The Noke Koi (Katukina) people will be further represented by Washme Noke Koi–Txana, traditional musician and son of the chief of the Noke Koi people, and by Mayá Kamanawa, indigenous rights activist from the state of Acre in the Brazilian Amazon.

Dr. Tim Boekhout van Solinge, forest crime scientist and director of Forest Forces Foundation, will provide contextual information by discussing (illegal) deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon in the context of climate change, indigenous land rights, and the role of demand markets and foreign investments from the EU and the Netherlands. He will also discuss deforestation in the state of Pará, which for many years has been Brazil’s leading deforestation state, and how Forest Forces Foundation has developed a best practice of GPS-supported forest crime prevention, together with the forest guards of Maró Indigenous Territory.

Besides presentations and dialogues with the speakers, there will be live indigenous music from the Amazon, as well as some videos.

Today, Thursday 4 November 2021, during the UN climate summit in Glasgow (COP 26), Forest Forces Foundation and Teatro Munganga will present a night to discuss problems and solutions with regard to (illegal) deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.

Amazonia meets Amsterdam: Indigenous and criminological perspectives on the Amazon rainforest

Stopping global deforestation is one of the hot topics that will be discussed at the UN climate summit in Glasgow (1-12 November). Globally, Brazil is by far the world’s number one deforestation country. In the Brazilian Amazon, most logging (for timber) is illegal: 80%-90%. Most deforestation (mainly for agriculture, and also for mining) is also illegal. Illegal logging and illegal deforestation are clear examples of forest crime.

Climate change can be observed and felt in South America and the Amazon rainforest. As reported by Thompson Reuters (21 Sept 2021), heavy rain in May and June pushed the Negro River to its highest level in more than a century, causing flooding in Manaus, the Amazon rainforest's largest city. At the same time, parts of southern and west-central Brazil in the Paraná River basin – including Brazil's largest city of Sao Paulo – suffered unprecedented drought due to low rainfall.

On 4 November in Amsterdam, the focus will be on threats to the Amazon rainforest due to illegal logging and deforestation, with special attention given to the Brazilian Amazon, which covers two-thirds of the total Amazon basin. Two states in the Brazilian Amazon will be discussed in detail: the state of Acre near Peru and the state of Pará in the Lower Amazon near Surinam.

The purpose of the night is not only to discuss deforestation problems, but also to have a dialogue between people from the Amazon and people from the urbanised western world, such as Amsterdam. The week of the UN climate summit is a good time to have this exchange.

Organised by: Forest Forces Foundation                 www.forestforces.org

Teatro Munganga                              www.munganga.nl