Amazon indigenous lands influence rainfall supporting agribusiness
A Serrapilheira Institute's study, released this week, indicates that indigenous lands in the Amazon influence the rainfall that supplies 80 percent of the country's agricultural activities.
According to the institute—a private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting science in Brazil—these data show that, in 2021, the agricultural sector in areas most benefited by this dynamic generated an income of BRL 338 billion, accounting for 57 percent of the national total.
“The conclusion is that the impact of preserving indigenous lands goes beyond the environment, standing out as a key element for Brazil’s water, food, and economic security,” said the institute.
The study also reveals that at least 18 states and the Federal District are partially or fully within the area of influence of Amazonian indigenous lands.
“In states like Acre, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Paraná, there are regions where rainfall generated by the recycling of water from Amazonian indigenous lands' forests accounts for one-third of the annual total for each area,” the survey states.
The institute notes that up to 30 percent of the average rainfall on the country’s agricultural lands is directly linked to the efficient water recycling in these territories.
Despite the findings, Rondônia and Mato Grosso, which are among the nine states most affected by this rainfall, have also been among the top deforesters since 1985.
Food security
The data also show that rainfall from these indigenous lands directly contributes to national food security, as family farming accounts for over 50 percent of the total production value in several of the affected states.
“In practice, the Amazon 'irrigates' much of the country through the so-called 'flying rivers': the moisture recycled in the forests of Amazonian indigenous lands is transported through the atmosphere and becomes rain in other regions of Brazil, such as the Central-West and the South,” the Serrapilheira Institute noted.
This natural rain-generating mechanism relies on the preservation of conserved native forests, which are responsible for releasing moisture into the atmosphere, the study reads.
Barrier to deforestation
Indigenous lands currently cover around 23 percent of the so-called Legal Amazon, include over 450 territories, and are home to approximately 403,600 people.
They have historically acted as a barrier to deforestation: of the 4.4 million hectares deforested in the Amazon biome between 2019 and 2023, only 3 percent (130,200 hectares) occurred within indigenous lands.
The institute explained that this occurs because most activities on indigenous lands are carried out in ways that are integrated with the ecosystem, involving methods of use and management that do not necessarily require the removal of native vegetation.
“There is, therefore, an intrinsic relationship between the territorial protection of indigenous peoples and the conservation of ecosystems,” the study concluded.
