Gov’t considers rewarding quilombos for biome conservation
Ronaldo dos Santos, secretary of policies for quilombolas, traditional people and communities of African origin, terreiro people, and gypsies of the Ministry of Racial Equality, advocated the recognition of the work of quilombos in environmental preservation in Brazil.
In his view, these black communities, remnants of the period of slavery, characterized by the adoption of collective, traditional production methods, and the sustainable use of the land, provide an environmental service that merits compensation.
“The quilombos are found in all of Brazil’s biomes. They conserve the environment. In times of climate emergency, we need to talk about this. The people who still conserve ecosystems and the quilombos are in these places,” he said in an interview on Tuesday (7) on A Voz do Brasil, an EBC radio program.
Ownership
The secretary noted that one of the government’s priorities is to speed up the recognition of the ownership of territories belonging to the remaining quilombos. This year, title for five properties was granted to three communities: Brejo dos Crioulos, in Minas Gerais state, and Lagoa dos Campinhos and Serra da Guia, in Sergipe. They had been waiting over 20 years for regularization. According to the Ministry of Racial Equality, 663 families and more than 3,315 people were benefited.
A working group was set up to define the goals and plans for recognizing the right of these communities to the place they are located. Quilombo associations estimate there are more than 1,800 pending ownership cases.
Research
A study revealed that 205 million hectares are inhabited by people of African descent across 16 Latin American countries, Brazil included. Seventy-seven percent of the total area is covered by natural vegetation. These regions are regarded as biodiversity hotspots.
The survey was prepared by Brazil’s National Coordination of Quilombo Articulation, the Process of Black Communities of Colombia, the Observatory of Ethnic and Peasant Territories of the Pontifical Javierian University, also in Colombia, and the Rights and Resources Initiative.
