It was a beautiful star gazing night last night and almost everyone was out on deck. The moon rose late and the lights on deck were off because we are in transit. In the distance, against the silhouette of the forest, there was an orange glow.

Coca said I hope that is the moon. I said, it isn't.

I've seen it many times before on this trip, the warm orange glow on the horizon accompanied by a smoky haze in the sky. The distinct smell of burning wood hung in the air.

Over the past week we documented huge deforested areas in Santarem, many still on fire, all being cleared for soya plantations. The aerial images confirm that the attack of private companies on the forest continues out of control and we delivered the images to the federal prosecutors.

The expansion of Brazil's soya market is fuelling an emerging cycle of deforestation. Over three-quarters of a million hectares of soya was planted within the Amazon deforestation belt by the end of 2001.

Three forces are driving soya expansion in Para state - low land prices, the lack of funding for an effective government inspection infrastructure, and the construction of Cargill's soya handling facilities in Santarem.

But federal prosecutors just announced that they will launch legal action in the federal courts calling for demolition of Cargills' soya handling facilities in Santarem. The federal prosecutors will also ask for the immediate suspension of the American corporation's activities in Santarem until the courts reach their decision.  

Under Brazilian law the construction of the Cargill facility required prior preparation and approval of an Environmental Impact Assessment. Instead of complying, they chose to contest this requirement in the courts. After four years of court challenges, late last month the Court of Final Instance ruled unanimously against Cargill. However, in the interim, the multinational giant constructed their facility in Santarem's main beach, in violation of the law. Twenty-five families were displaced in the construction of the facilities.

At the announcement, Federal Prosecutor Felicio Pontes said "Cargill believed that because they were a powerful multinational, they could disrespect both Brazilian legislation and the environment. The court decision shows that they were wrong."

Way to go federal prosecutors - a victory for the people and the forest.

Before the completion of the Cargill facility, one hectare of rural land in the region cost R$50 (US$13). With the arrival of "gauchos", as the soya producers are called, the price per hectare skyrocketed to R$900 (US$300). Entire rural communities were displaced, the inhabitants having sold their land rights and moved to the city.

Based on our ongoing field investigations, we believe that deforestation this year will be even higher than last year. There is a growing and very dangerous trend appearing.

Traditionally cattle ranchers would move into areas that loggers had exploited, and clear the land for pastures. Empirical data now indicates that cattle ranchers continue to push into new areas that are being deforested, after exhaustive exploitation by loggers, later selling the areas to the soya producers. At the same time the soya producers are burning large tracts of the forest solely for conversion to large-scale agriculture

Between August 2001 and August 2002 deforestation in Brazil's Amazon increased 40 percent compared to the previous 12 months. Analysis of satellite images by the National Institute of Space Research (INPE) show that the destruction dramatically expanded beyond what is known as the "Arc of Deforestation" - that runs from the east and south of Para state towards Acre state - and is cutting deeper and deeper into the heart of the untouched forest. According to the Ministry of Environment, this deforestation is a direct result of the invasion of soya producers.

The burning question the government must answer: do they want to contain deforestation, support and promote sustainable alternatives, and strengthen the Ministry of Environment, or lose immense areas of the Amazon to predatory exploitation?

Until then, the fires rage on.

Tracy

Our two boats parted in Alter do Chao, the riverboat returned to Manaus and we have returned to the Porto de Moz region with the Arctic Sunrise. We are anchored at the mouth of the Acaraí river, birthplace of the dream.

For the last month our presence in the region along with Ibama, the environmental potection agency, has effectively shut down all logging. Before we leave the region, we wanted to leave a big reminder to the loggers that this area belongs to the communities and although our ship may have to leave soon, we will always be watching.

We demarcated an area at the mouth of the river along the border of the proposed extractive reserve Verde para Sempre (Forever Green). We placed five large banners in the forest on the shore of the Xingu river with the messages "Reserved for the Reserve" and "Peace in the Forest", in all the languages of the key countries that import illegal wood from the Amazon

It was hot, but wonderful to get off the ship and step on the shores of this magic place once more. Even here where the forest meets the river the wildlife came out to greet us. We could see many tiny fish and a few forest crabs along the shore in the crystal clear waters flowing from the Acaraí. I also saw my first Amazon sting ray. I had my shoes off and my pant legs rolled up and was about to step in the water to take a picture of all my friends working on shore when I looked down and saw it, no bigger than my spead palm, blackish-blue with yellow dots. It stayed for a minute then gracefully floated off and hid behind a rock.

The communities living here want to preserve this forest and the rivers and all the life that depends upon it. Extractive reserves are protected areas cooperatively managed by the local communities for low-impact activities such as rubber tapping, vegetable oil extraction and small-scale logging. They must include fully protected areas, guarded by the communities themselves.

Maria Luisa who lives in this region on one of the tributaries of the Acaraí says they have been fighting for this dream for three years.

"Life here was very healthy. We used to live from our hunting and fishing. We only used to take the milk out of Massaranduba tree to make some money to survive. In summer, we used to get manioc flour from our plantations and sell it and, in the winter, Massaranduba milk. We didn't used to plant beans, rice, anything, only manioc and there was abundance of fish and game. But now, everything has changed. I get very sad when I start remembering how it was and how it is now.  There wasn't greed, everybody used to live on the land, and everything belonged to everyone."

Their traditional lives changed when loggers and local authorities began invading public and community lands in the region, exploiting timber illegally and in a predatory manner, and aggressively attempting to displace the local rural populations.  

"Many times I am afraid of dying," says Maria Luisa. "They come with guns, knives and I get afraid, but at the same time, I am not. Why? If I was born to fight for my people, for life, if my destiny is to die, I will die for it. I will not stop before all these injustices, to let things go because I am afraid. I am not afraid!"

Agents from Ibama and from the Brazilian Army and the Federal Police, arrived in Porto de Moz in mid-November to inspect all Forest Management Plans currently existing within the region proposed for the extractive reserves in Porto de Moz and in neighboring Prainha. They also conducted an investigation of the paperwork of 182 logging companies in Pára state, and discovered 1,263 falsified documents used to launder more than three million trees that were illegally harvested in the forests of Pára.

The loggers, led by the mayors of three towns in the regions, all of them also loggers, have been aggressively protesting our presence as well as Ibama's. The loggers are pressuring the government to stop Ibama's inspection. We are now lobbying the government to not negotiate with illegal loggers and accelerate the process for the creation of the reserve and to take action to ensure the protection of the community people, activists and federal officials working in this remote region of the Amazon.

So far, 9000 of you have sent letters of support to President Lula, thank you so much for this support. If you haven't already sent a letter to Brazilian President Lula calling for the creation of the reserve, please do so today.

"We are like birds searching for food. Most of time, we can be compared to baby birds with our months open, shouting for help," says Maria Luisa. "Together we can, you can help to save us, save our lives, the lives of our children, grandchildren and of those still to come. Thanks."

Tracy