Last year, the fires that spread across countless territories in Brazil had unimaginable impacts on traditional peoples and communities. In Rondônia, for the family of extractivist Vera Oliveira da Cruz, the harvesting of Brazil nuts, which should have totaled more than 480 kg, has yet to reach 60 kg.
From 1985 to 2023, fire consumed approximately 9.5 million hectares in the state. Of these, 7.8 million were in areas dominated by agribusiness – around 95.6% of which was pasture. If you take into account areas that have been burned more than once, the figure rises to more than 27 million hectares.
With land burning without interruption for more than a month, quilombolas and extractivists have seen how it aggravates drought, bringing hunger and loss of production in a state dominated by agribusiness.
In the wake of these fires, CESE spoke with the Agri is Fire Coalition (Articulação Agro é Fogo) about providing emergency support for the communities most affected in the Amazon, Cerrado and Pantanal. The proposal included support for the purchase of food/staple food baskets, drinking water, fire-fighting PPE, seedlings and/or other items. In the Amazon, the partnership included local coordination by the Pastoral Land Commission (Comissão Pastoral da Terra: CPT-RO).