Tiny amazon indigenous territory bears devastating 70% of all mining-related deforestation

A small Indigenous territory in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has become ground zero for illegal mining destruction, accounting for a staggering 70% of all deforestation in Indigenous lands across the region over the past two years. The Sararé Indigenous Territory in Mato Grosso state, home to just 200 Nambikwara people, has seen illegal gold miners devastate more than 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) of pristine forest—equivalent to over 4% of their entire ancestral homeland.

The scale of destruction represents a dramatic escalation of environmental crime. According to government data, from January 2024 to August 2024 alone, Sararé experienced 85% more mining-related deforestation than the next nine most impacted Indigenous territories combined. This marks a shocking transformation for a community that had lost only 78 hectares to mining as recently as 2018, according to Greenpeace reports.

The invasion has intensified rapidly, with the number of illegal miners operating in Sararé exploding from an estimated 250-300 in 2023 to approximately 2,000 this year. This massive influx of illegal activity has catapulted Sararé from complete absence on mining alert lists in 2023 to becoming the most devastated Indigenous territory in Brazil’s Amazon by far.

The crisis highlights the vulnerability of Indigenous communities and their critical role as forest guardians. While these territories have historically served as some of the Amazon’s most effective protection against deforestation, the Sararé situation demonstrates how quickly illegal mining operations can overwhelm small Indigenous communities and destroy irreplaceable rainforest ecosystems.