Photographer Page

Felipe Fittipaldi

The Kayapó, in the Xingu River basin in the central Amazon region, struggle to preserve their cultural traditions in the face of exposure to the influences of the modern world. In recent days, Kayapó leaders have negotiated the withdrawal of gold miners from their territory for the duration of the coronavirus crisis. Elsewhere, Kayapó vigilance patrols have felled trees to block access roads leading into their reserve.

Illegal mining equipment in Rondonia.

A lone officer from IBAMA keeps vigil at a sawmill in Boa Vista do Pacarana, Rondônia. In July 2019, agents from the environmental protection agency discovered widespread irregularities in the inventories of sawmills. They said much of the timber was taken illegally from three nearby indigenous reserves.

IBAMA agents scoured backroads in Espigão d’Oeste to find timber that had been illegally harvested from indigenous lands. Officials said area sawmill operators had hidden it.

An officer from IBAMA, Brazil’s environment protection agency, stands vigil at a sawmill outside Boa Vista do Pacarana, a frontier logging settlement in the state of Rondônia. During a bust in mid-July, IBAMA shut down several Pacarana mills, citing illegalities in the forestry management plans and inventories.

IBAMA agents inspect a tree stump outside the frontier settlement of Boa Vista do Pacarana, a settlement within the municipality of Espigão d’Oeste. The operation was launched in mid-July after a truck carrying aviation fuel to IBAMA helicopters was attacked and burned—by assailants connected with the logging industry, officials suspect.

IBAMA inspector Givanildo dos Santos Lima, coordinator of the operation, picks his way across a pile of milled planks at a sawmill outside Boa Vista de Pacarana. The sawmill was shut down after IBAMA inspectors discovered irregularities in its inventories.

IBAMA agents discover a stash of timber on a backroad in Boa Vista de Pacarana. Officials say sawmills in the area depend on trees harvested illegally from three nearby indigenous reserves—because outside the reserves, few valuable trees are left.

At the start of the operation, IBAMA agents confer with military police outside police headquarters in Espigão d’Oeste, a timber industry hub. More than 50 policemen and nearly 100 Brazilian army soldiers provided support and security for three dozen IBAMA officials during the operation.

An illegal gold and diamond operation scars the land and waterways inside the Aripuanã Indigenous Territory. Indigenous lands are beset not only by illegal loggers but also by prospectors attracted by rich deposits.