As has been described and explained in the
Methodology, large numbers of cashew seeds were planted by the Yanomami on
gravel areas during the survey as part of an experimental attempt to initiate
the recuperation process in the most severely damaged areas. These were revisited by Edinelson Pereira
approximately six weeks after planting.
An analysis of three of the planted areas showed that approximately 3
out of every 5 seeds had germinated successfully. Those that had been planted with a small amount of organic
material had grown to a height of 35cm, whilst those planted directly in the
gravels had only reached 15cm. In total
at least 500 cashew plants had successfully germinated. The survival of these plants will depend
upon their ability to survive the coming dry season, during which there is
likely to be extremely low soil humidity in these areas. It may also be influenced by the occurrence
of fires, which are sometimes set in these areas (deliberately or accidentally)
when the vegetation is dry.
· A well-designed and well managed environmental and economic recuperation programme could do much to relieve the damage that has been perpetrated at Homoxi.
· The sociological, environmental and ethno-ecological data presented in this report provide sufficient background for the development of an informed, appropriate recuperation project.
· Full participation of the Yanomami at all stages of the project will be vital to its success in the long term. It will be important to generate a sense of project ownership among the Yanomami communities involved, and to maximise capacity building and technology transfer. Collaborative research, discussions and experimental planting undertaken during the present study were successful in generating enthusiasm and interest in the project among members of all the Yanomami communities in the region. In formal discussions with community leaders, great interest was expressed in undertaking a project of this nature and in the benefits that it could bring.[1]
· The varied range of degraded habitats at Homoxi offers opportunities for establishment of a wide range of species, including plants that are native to the forests of the Homoxi region and plants that occur (or are grown) elsewhere in Northern Amazonia, i.e. either native or naturalised.[2] The choice of these species should be influenced by the following factors:
·
Environmental
suitability (specific to substrate and hydrological conditions)
·
Ecological
roles
·
Economic
importance for the Yanomami (see ethnobotanical data)
· The project should be tied in where appropriate with CCPY’s education project at Homoxi, e.g. by the generation of educational materials dealing with the subject of environmental damage and recuperation. This would be of benefit both to the education project and the environmental/ economic recuperation project (e.g. by raising awareness of the problems of fire).
· Any project of this kind will necessarily be of a long-term nature. The project will need ongoing technical support and monitoring throughout its duration.
· The project will need to be experimental. Various techniques should be applied using various species in a range of environments. ‘Failsafe’ elements should, however, be included in the project in order to minimise disillusionment when more experimental efforts fail. Experiments will need to be carefully mapped (using GIS) and monitored over the long term, so that successful techniques and combinations can be extended as appropriate. Nevertheless, in spite of the need for experimentation, it is vital that the research side is at no point allowed to dominate the practical side of the project.
· The main barriers to regrowth in the area are likely to be fire, seed predation, seasonal drought and soil poverty. Strategies should be adopted to minimise these problems, e.g. the establishment of seed nurseries (with year-round water supply), fire prevention (possible including establishment of fire breaks around key plantations), soil improvement etc.
· In addition to innovative approaches specific to the situation at Homoxi, techniques should be drawn from successful environmental recuperation projects elsewhere in Amazonia. These include, for example, the use of Inga[3] and other leguminous trees as a means of establishing rapid cover and providing green manure, the use of leaf litter from adjacent forest to raise the levels of organic matter in degraded soils, etc. It is recommended that the project should draw on the expertise available in the two centres of excellence in Amazonian research: Inpa (Manaus) and the Museu Goeldi (Belém).
· The project should include facilitation of the development of relationships (e.g. by the arrangement of exchange visits) between the Yanomami communities of Homoxi and other Amazonian indigenous groups involved in environmental and economic recuperation projects,
· The project should build on the techniques and expertise that have been developed by CCPY’s PAY Agroforestry project in other Yanomami communities. There is scope for overlap in the execution of these two projects.
· The current survey inevitably raised expectations of practical benefits among the Yanomami communitites of Homoxi. In order to maintain the enthusiasm of these communities for participation in an environmental recuperation project, it would be beneficial if such a project could be initiated relatively rapidly.
· The project could beneficially address the problem of the diminishing variety of traditional crop cultivars. This would help in the ongoing process of re-establising the communities’ productivity systems (after the dependence on outside resources that was generated during the time of the garimpo).
· Depletion of game in the Homoxi region is still evident, and is likely to remain a factor in the most affected areas (particularly within the hunting radius of the currently sedentary Tirei community). Selection of species with food value for game animals (attractants) can help to alleviate this problem.
· A few species of economic importance (e.g. palm leaves for thatching and fish poison vines) are reported by the Yanomami to be sparse, at least partly as a result of mining activities. Experimental planting and management projects for these species could be included within the recuperation programme.
· Given the demand for goods from the outside world, it is important that sustainable sources of income should be identified for the Yanomami communities at Homoxi. Such income will inevitably be derived from the natural resources in the region, and the project offers a valuable opportunity for identification and development of such resources. These might include, for example, handicrafts, herbal remedies, dried wild fungi, forest seeds (for replanting projects) and honey.[4]
· The Homoxi region supports large numbers of species of stingless honey-producing bees. Honey from managed bee colonies could potentially provide a small source of income to the communities in the Homoxi region (CCPY is already running an apiculture project among other Yanomami communities).
· Some of the regeneration of vegetation in the Homoxi region is dominated by species (particularly Vismia spp.) that can suppress regeneration of other forest species. Thinning or partial clearance of these areas, combined with enrichment planting, may provide a means of accelerating the diversification of these secondary forests.
· Soil development in some of the degraded areas could potentially be improved by facilitating the periodic flooding by the Rio Mucajaí (allowing silt loads to be deposited in the rainy season). This would require manipulation of the river banks.
· The project could potentially incorporate reintroduction to the region of elements of the fauna (e.g. caiman) that have disappeared. Caiman could be obtained from elsewhere in the Yanomami area. Projects of this nature are already under way elsewhere in Central and Latin America, with apparent success. This would require expert technical input and long-term monitoring, which could be achieved by training of Yanomami participants.
· Levels of mercury contamination in the Homoxi area, particularly in the aquatic environment (e.g. in manmade lagoons and accumulation in fishes, prawns etc.) are insufficiently understood. The project provides an opportunity to develop a better understanding of the situation and, if necessary, to develop strategies to minimise the impact of such pollution on the Yanomami communities.
· The Homoxi environment would be improved by the removal of equipment and other refuse left in the area by the garimpeiros. Some this machinery (e.g. motors, aeroplanes) is heavy and/or bulky, and removal costs (i.e. by helicopter) would be very high. It may therefore be appropriate to bury material that does not pose a risk of groundwater contamination, and to remove the material that does.
· This project presents a valuable opportunity to develop a model for recuperation of degraded areas elsewhere in the Yanomami territory.
[1] These benefits do not only include the environmental and economic benefits that the project would be designed to bring, but also the opportunity for developing a stronger relationship with CCPY (including the exchange of goods that form an important part of any such relationship in Yanomami society).
[2] These might include, for example, Mauritia flexuosa, Jessenia bataua and Euterpe precatoria. These are palm species that grow widely in the region and provide an important source of food both for people and game, but which are not found at Homoxi.
[3] Several species of Inga grow naturally in the Homoxi region, some of which have been successfully employed in forest regeneration in badly damaged areas (e.g. oil roads) elsewhere in Amazonia.
[4] One common plant on the edges of the regenerating areas, for example, is Uncaria tomentosa. A massive international market has been developed for this plant over the last few years, traded under the name uńa de gato. Research on this species is being carried out at INPA.