Again, the role played by financial institutions, in particular by Crédit Agricole, in the destruction of the Amazon is highlighted in a report by the NGO Amazon Watch and the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB ), released on Tuesday, February 22. The fourth edition of the study “Complicity in destruction” focuses on the links between finance and mining companies preparing exploration projects in indigenous territories, which are prohibited by the Brazilian Constitution. A restriction that might be lifted this year by Congress, before the presidential election in October.
In February 2020, the ministers of mines and justice introduced a bill opening Indian territories to the exploitation of their natural resources, in particular minerals, hydrocarbons and water resources necessary for the production of electricity. Two months later, Ricardo Salles, then Minister of the Environment, took advantage of the media attention focused on the Covid-19 pandemic to speed up discussions in Congress.
The video of this council of ministers of April 22, disclosed by the Supreme Court, confirmed the extent to which environmental protection was seen as an obstacle by the government. During this meeting, the Minister welcomed the progress made by companies to prepare for these normative changes.
A boom in mining exploration applications
This is precisely what this new report reveals: while the legislation has not yet changed, in November 2021, there were 2,478 mining exploration applications on 261 Indian territories, filed with the National Mining Agency ( ANM) by 570 mining companies. In total, these requests represent 10.1 million hectares, the equivalent of the area of Iceland, mainly in the Amazon where the mining deposits are concentrated. ” Some demands are old, but there has been a boom from Jair Bolsonaro’s victory, both multinationals and gold panning cooperatives. As long as they are in the ANM system, these requests remain valid, even if they are illegal. And because the legislation can evolve, they represent a very serious threat for all these territories. “, explains Rosana Miranda, who coordinated this study for Amazon Watch.
The report focused in particular on seven mining giants which have filed applications for exploitation in indigenous territories: the Brazilians Vale and Potassio do Brasil, the British Anglo American, the South African AngloGold Ashanti, the Australian Rio Tinto, the Canadian Belo Sun, Anglo-Swiss Glencore and Peruvian Minsur. Together, they have benefited, in loans and contributions, from capital of 54.2 billion dollars (47.7 billion euros) since 2016 for their operations in Brazil over the past five years.
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