Maranhão’s Amazon Requires Attention to Continue Existing

Part of the Amazon is located in Maranhão, Brazil and is home to rich biodiversity, occupying 26% of the Amazon biome, it’s found in 62 municipalities and represents, in terms of biome, 34% of the state’s territory. However, it runs the serious risk of disappearing. For years it has suffered from deforestation, illegal logging, mining, charcoal production, excessive hunting and raising livestock. In addition, it receives little attention from the state and federal government and its importance is overlooked by most people from Maranhão.

Located in a transitional area, between the Northeast and the Amazon and measuring 81208.40 km ², 109 species of fish, 124 mammals and 503 birds have been found in this area alone. It is home to the Harpy Eagle and other endangered species like primates such as the Cairara Ka'apor (Cebus Kaapori) and Cuxiú-black (Chiropotes satanas). It has an average of 570 trees per hectare and at least 100 species. According to the study "Maranhão’s Amazon: diversity and conservation," released in 2011 as a result of a partnership between the Eastern Amazon Biodiversity Research Program (PPBio) Goeldi Museum (MPEG), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation ( MCTI) and the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), it is "one of the most significant portions in terms of the richness of species and endemism."

Contrary to the importance of its biodiversity, Maranhão is among the states with the most deforestation. According to Prodes, an information system from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), by 2010, 71.05% of the state had already been cleared. From 1984 to 2000 the rate of deforestation in this area of rain forest averaged 1.62% per year. Today, the Amazon region of Maranhão has less than 25% of its original vegetation.

To further aggravate the situation, among all the states of Amazonian states, Maranhão is the one with the lowest degree of Indian occupation of protected areas. In this scenario, the Indigenous Land High Turiaçu (530.525ha), Awa (118.000ha) and Caru (172.667ha) and the Biological Reserve (Rebio) Gurupi (278,000 ha) are connected to each other and together represent the remnants of Amazon forest in Maranhão.

Science and the "pre-Amazon"

According to Marlúcia Boniface Martins, from the Goeldi Museum, "in Maranhão there is no culture of integration between research institutions." "Also, we do not have sufficient resources to do scientific research. We need a policy that takes into account the importance of natural resources, "adds Francisca Helena Muniz, a professor at the University of Maranhão State (UEMA).

The smaller the amount of information about the Maranhão’s Amazon, the harder it is to argue in favor of conservation. Last year the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) released the document "Geostatistics from Amazonian Natural Resources in 2003." When analyzing this study, a report in the newspaper O Globo, published in December 2011, states that "Maranhão was the last state to have its data detailed." Scientific research in the region in general, is more focused on areas of the Cerrado than the Amazon. It’s no wonder, little is known about the conservation status of most amphibians and reptiles in this area of the Amazon.

The lack of importance given to this region's history begins in the 80s, when the forest area in Maranhão began to be called "pre-Amazon." "This term was coined to convey the idea of something that has come before the Amazon in order to 'legalize' the deforestation as if it were not Amazonian forest. This term was so widespread that it is now used by researchers even if they have no scientific basis, "says Francisca. "Those in Maranhão are not aware that Maranhão even has Amazon forest there. The term 'pre-Amazon' is even used in textbooks and induces a differentiation that does not exist," he adds Marlúcia.

Researchers who have worked on the publication of the Goeldi believe that the creation of this term was an attempt to evade the limit of 80% of rural properties to be maintained as Amazon Reserve, while for areas of the Cerrado this limit drops to 50%. Another attempt to increase forest clearing in Maranhão came in 2009 when large farmers joined in a campaign for the withdrawal of the State of Amazon.

Conservation

Eloísa Neves Mendonça, environmental analyst for the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity and Conservation (ICMbio), explains that the agency has sought closer ties with institutions for awareness-raising about the importance of the region, with hope that this will thereby reduce harmful actions within the biological reserve. It’s considered the most important portion of the Amazon rainforest remaining in Maranhão and its area has already been at least 25% deforested.

This action is more than necessary. According to the study of the Goeldi rightly: "Even with all of the difficulties, the perception from those in Maranhão, Brazil and internationally of the environmental problems that threaten the Amazon as well as the importance of its conservation can surely save the last frontier of the Maranhão’s Amazon." The more information that is generated and disseminated about this region, the greater the chances of its preservation.

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To learn more:

Amazonia of Maranhão - diversity and conservation (in Portuguese)

Geostatistics for Natural Resources of the Amazon 2003 (in Portuguese)