In 2010, Electronorte initiated the construction of a high-tension (500 kW) transmission line to connect the power plants at Tucuruí and Belo Monte; this line was extended north to the Amazon River with connections to Macapá (Amapá) and Manaus (Amazonas). This ambitious undertaking required the construction of extraordinarily tall tower paillons (300 meters) in order […]
Local communities across the world have passed on the traditional knowledge about foods gathered from the wild, and in some places, these foods are getting more popular. In India, the demand for fox nuts grows, but its habitat and ecosystem are threatened. In Brazil, communal Brazil nut harvesting is proving to be a winning opportunity […]
The Southern Amazon has experienced massive deforestation, coupled with the degradation of soil and water resources. The forest frontiers at the remote corners of the Brazilian highway system have remained isolated and impoverished, but the agricultural frontiers and consolidated landscapes of Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia and Tocantins are relatively prosperous. Their rural economies generate […]
The trip from the heart of Almeirim municipality, on the banks of the Amazon River, to the rural community of Cafezal takes nearly three hours on the fast boat, referred to as “the flyer” by the people living on the river. “But to get to where the nut trees are, it’s another three hours by […]
Loggers have entered the Trombetas River Biological Reserve in Oriximiná, in Brazil’s Pará state, to develop a forest management project that has divided the local Quilombola community.