News
Note regarding indigenous peoples' demonstration Oct. 19-20 - 10.21.04
Veracel Celulose S/A would like to clarify and comment on facts that occurred on October 20, when a demonstration by members of indigenous communities halted traffic on the BR-101 highway in the municipality of Itabela, Bahia. Veracel was cited by the demonstrators, who stated that the company was occupying indigenous areas with its eucalyptus plantations.
In 1997, Veracel acquired four pieces of property in a region north of Monte Pascoal and, taking into consideration all of the demarcation of existing indigenous lands (the Barra Velha village) as well as the borders of the Monte Pascoal National Park, verified that there would be no interference or overlapping of the areas that had been acquired with indigenous properties or the National Park itself.
In August 1999, a work group was created by the Ministry of Justice (through FUNAI) to conduct studies for "Revision of the Borders of the Barra Velha Village." Due to the complexity of the question, this group has not yet concluded its studies, which include, among other topics, the verification of the presence of ancestral vestiges of indigenous occupation in the region.
The claims of the Pataxó community were initiated in 2000 when the group, with the assistance of the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI), invaded a property bordering the BR-101 highway. As of this episode, the indigenous group began to demand an increase in its area, and today is awaiting the conclusions of the work group.
Until the conclusive official study about the area in question has been prepared, it is wrong and tendentious to affirm that some Veracel plantations exist within Pataxó lands. All of the documents that are known today demonstrate that the official borders of the indigenous lands in the region are about five kilometers away from the boundaries of the company's properties.
The current use of land in the area being claimed by the indigenous communities, which today is the property of about 300 farmers, is for different economic activities such as growing fruits, coffee and cattle raising and, on a much smaller scale, for eucalyptus plantations. Of these plantations, 2,651 hectares belong to Veracel, of which only 1,019 hectares have effectively been planted with eucalyptus trees, duly approved by the Environmental Resources Center (CRA), the government agency responsible for forest licensing in the state of Bahia. At the time, there was no questioning by the Indian groups regarding the aforementioned area.
Veracel does not own any other property containing eucalyptus plantations in the area being claimed by the indigenous groups and has not and does not intend to foster forestry partnerships in the region.
Respect of society and its different segments constitutes one of the underpinnings of the Veracel project. There should be no doubt whatsoever that Veracel Celulose is ready to accept any decisions made by the proper public authorities regarding the true tenure and ownership of the areas in question.