On June 3rd, a boat chartered by Greenpeace Brazil left the city of Manaus, capital of the state of Amazonas, to venture deep into the rainforest. After years of preparation, our expedition for The Amazon We Need has finally become a reality. The boat is serving as a base for scientists to study Amazonian biodiversity, providing an opportunity to do research in a region that has hardly yet been studied. The expedition is also bringing top scientists closer to the communities of the Manicoré River in order to support their long standing struggle for protection of their lands and ways of life.
But tragedy struck a few days into the expedition, when Brazilian Indigenist Bruno Araújo Pereira and Guardian journalist Dom Phillips disappeared in the Javari Valley, more than 1000 kilometres to the west of our team’s destination. A few days later the deaths of Dom and Bruno were confirmed. With sadness and indignation we asked ourselves: where do we go from here? How do we talk about “another possible Amazon when such a question can provoke such contempt on the part of the authorities?
We chose to continue in our mission in order to honour the legacies of Bruno, Dom and every other individual across the planet who has raised their voice against environmental atrocities. Let’s talk about the Amazon that we need — as an act of resistance. Let’s talk about the fight for land rights. Let’s talk about traditional cultures that respect the forest, biodiversity, science and everything that is necessary to move forward. The project is designed to oppose the crimes that threaten all works of those who defend the forests and its peoples. The ultimate aim of this project is to promote a vision of a biodiverse Amazon where the rights of Indigenous communities are guaranteed and ecological balance restored.
On the brighter side, during the expedition, ornithologists onboard the ship documented a recently identified species of bird known as “Chico’s tyrannulet” (Zimmerius chicomendesi) that was named in honour of the groundbreaking activist Chico Mendes from Acre State. The researchers found this little bird far north of where it had previously been recorded, making this a novel finding that deepened our knowledge of the species and its habitat. The ornithologists also gave us the etymological explanation of the species name. This explanation ends with the following passage:
If Mendes were alive today, we cannot help but imagine that Brazil would be far ahead of where it is in the development of a truly sustainable Amazonia in reasonable harmony with both Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous people. In bringing this obscure little bird to the light of science, we call up the spirit of Chico Mendes to help us all get it right.
Finding this elusive bird species has given us hope and reinvigorated our efforts to carry on with our work at the Amazon and speak up when indigineous rights are violated. Greenpeace will fight alongside the people of Rio Manicoré, for the forest, for all the species we know — and all those we don’t know yet. We will keep fighting because what is at stake is the future of all of us, and we cannot stop. We need to get it right.