Alessandra Korap is an Indigenous woman from the Munduruku tribe, who grew up in a secluded village in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. However, her peaceful life was disrupted as the nearby city of Itaituba and federal highways attracted tens of thousands of non-Indigenous settlers, illegal miners, and loggers to the region. The influx posed a grave threat to her people and their ancestral lands, which were still struggling to be recognized.
To defend her people, Korap and other Munduruku women overturned the traditionally all-male leadership and organized demonstrations, presented evidence of an environmental crime, and opposed illegal agreements and incentives offered to their tribe. Their efforts were recognized with the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, which honours roots activists worldwide for their dedication to environmental protection and sustainability.
Korap's top priority is to secure official recognition, or demarcation, for the Sawre Muybu territory, an area of virgin rainforest along the Tapajos River that spans 178,000 hectares and is currently threatened by illegal miners. However, she remains sceptical about the Brazilian government's new Ministry of Indigenous Peoples and its actions to drive out miners, as she sees their actions as contradictory. While the government advocates for forest protection, it also negotiates trade deals to sell beef and soybeans, the main drivers of deforestation in Brazil. The article also mentions the other recipients of this year's Goldman Environmental Prize, including environmental activists from Finland, Indonesia, Zambia, Turkey, and the US.
© Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved Powered by Vygr Media.
