Baku, Azerbaijan – Today, Indigenous leaders and social movements held a peaceful demonstration in the Blue Zone at the COP29 summit to denounce the threats and impacts of the Ferrogrão mega-railway project and other infrastructure projects in the Amazon. Goldman Prize-winner Alessandra Korap Munduruku was the main voice at the protest, where she read a “Letter from the Tapajós River to the World,” amplifying the statement made last Saturday across the world at a major Ferrogrão protest action blocking commodity barges on the major Amazonian river.
Alessandra criticized the blatant contradiction between the Brazilian government’s positive climate discourse at COP29 alongside its promotion of carbon bomb projects like Ferrogrão, which threatens to impact 49 thousand square kilometers of protected Amazon forests. “There’s no point in the government talking about climate change while it approves mining, carbon credits, and projects like Ferrogrão, which destroy our lands and cultures. These logistics projects don’t work for Amazon and have a negative impact on the lives of traditional peoples,” she said.
The protest occurred amid efforts by sectors of the Brazilian government to fast-track export-oriented rail projects such as Ferrogrão. This week, Brazil’s Ministry of Transport issued a directive transferring environmental licensing for these projects to the federal government, seeking legal certainty to attract investment. Environmental and human rights organizations see the measure as a rollback that undermines the government’s responsibility to minimize the socio-environmental impacts of development projects.
During the demonstration, Alessandra pointed out that the degradation of the Tapajós River showcases glaring disrespect for the Amazon biome and the communities that depend on it. There are 41 existing port projects on the river, only five of which have an environmental license. She also highlighted the need for rigorous consultation of communities threatened by these projects, in accordance with Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO169). “They want to silence us, but we have the right to autonomy and to decide on our territory,” she said.
“The problem with major infrastructure projects in the Amazon is that they are not designed for the people or with the participation of the communities that live there,” said Bruna Balbi, legal advisor at Terra de Direitos, a member of the #NoFerrogrão Alliance. “We demand that the Brazilian government respect and value the traditions and knowledge of the peoples who inhabit these territories. Today, we must ask: is it possible to have popular participation in major decision-making on infrastructure and climate goals? Climate justice will only be possible with the voice of traditional peoples.”
“Today’s protest in Baku comes on the heels of one of the largest anti-Ferrogrão actions to date, where 400 Indigenous peoples and their allies blocked all commodity shipping on the Tapajós River for six hours,” said Pedro Charbel at Amazon Watch. “There is a growing movement calling on the Brazilian government to safeguard our climate by honoring its commitment to protect the Amazon and its peoples. It cannot achieve this critical goal while promoting the reckless expansion of agribusiness-driven infrastructure across the rainforest.”
