Citizen Action⎢Brazil⎢2022

Planting trees
with the Pataxo

In partnership with Programa Arboretum

Darwin, setting foot in Brazil for the first time in 1832, marveled at the amount of life that occupies this ecosystem: the primary forest is immense, but we are at the dawn of 200 years of forest exploitation, which will lose about 90% of its surface until today. This destruction is not without consequences for thousands of species living in the forest, such as the maned sloth.

If deforestation appears to be a major problem, reforestation is its positive counterpart. We documented the work of the Program Arboretum, which plants tree patches within the Pataxo indigenous community. The project is proof of the strong connection between ecological action and social action.

1832

In England any person fond of natural history enjoys in his walks a great advantage, by always having something to attract his attention; but in these fertile climates, teeming with life, the attractions are so numerous, that he is scarcely able to walk at all.

Considering the enormous area of Brazil, the proportion of cultivated ground can scarcely be considered as any thing, compared to that which is left in the state of nature: at some future age, how vast a population it will support!

– Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle, 1832

2022

Today, 90% of the Atlantic rainforest has been cut down to ensure the development of the Brazilian nation. This exploitation has led many species, animal and plant, to the brink of extinction.

Charles Darwin was therefore correct in his predictions, but probably did not suspect the disastrous impact of human development on biodiversity.

Reforestation projects, such as those led by the Programa Arboretum, demonstrate the goodwill of part of Brazilian society. Its strong link with the culture of the indigenous populations is an example to follow.

1832

In England any person fond of natural history enjoys in his walks a great advantage, by always having something to attract his attention; but in these fertile climates, teeming with life, the attractions are so numerous, that he is scarcely able to walk at all.

Considering the enormous area of Brazil, the proportion of cultivated ground can scarcely be considered as any thing, compared to that which is left in the state of nature: at some future age, how vast a population it will support!

– Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle, 1832

2022

Today, 90% of the Atlantic rainforest has been cut down to ensure the development of the Brazilian nation. This exploitation has led many species, animal and plant, to the brink of extinction.

Charles Darwin was therefore correct in his predictions, but probably did not suspect the disastrous impact of human development on biodiversity.

Reforestation projects, such as those led by the Programa Arboretum, demonstrate the goodwill of part of Brazilian society. Its strong link with the culture of the indigenous populations is an example to follow.

Planting trees to revitalize the forest

From the town of Ilhéus, we rented a car to continue our journey inland. We went to meet the Arboretum project.

Created and funded by the Brazilian government, this project aims to replant old patches of forest that are now deserted. It is Viviane who organizes the planting operation today, right in the middle of a reserve occupied by a native community, the Pataxo natives.

Many young tree shoots were brought by Viviane from a nursery located in Teixera de Freitas, a town located about a hundred kilometers to the south. Several species are represented here, all native to the Mata Atlanticâ. The mixture thus aims to recreate a perfectly autonomous ecosystem, where each tree plays a different role. For example, a fast-growing tree species will quickly, after only a few months, create the shade necessary for the growth of another species.

After a few years, the plot will be sufficiently wooded for the natives to be able to plant cocoa trees, banana trees or even cassava. These species do not tolerate monoculture well, and grow better in the shade of large trees. This is known today as agroforestry, but the technique has actually long been used by the natives themselves.

Thus, the reforestation initiative has several benefits. The first is to revitalize the forest, victim of deforestation caused by urban expansion, agriculture or the cultivation of species such as eucalyptus for the manufacture of paper. The second is to allow the natives to strengthen their food autonomy and to practice a sustainable economic activity (the cultivation and then the sale of cocoa beans and bananas).

In the Ilhéus region, the first cocoa trees were only planted a few decades after Darwin’s visit. It is therefore not necessarily a question here of purely and simply recreating the original ecosystems of the Mata Atlanticâ. It is rather a question of taking inspiration from them by adding more recent cultures to them to allow the development of an economically viable and naturally sustainable society.

Getting inspired by local cultures

Yesterday I was talking to you about the Pataxo natives (pronounced Patacho), on whose territory we are planting trees today. This tribe occupied part of the Brazilian territory long before the arrival of European settlers, and in particular the Portuguese. Today, they welcomed us into their home and we were able to get an idea of their way of life.

Much like in the United States, the natives were, throughout Brazilian history, gradually gathered into reservations. These are very large, of course, but represent only a small part of their original territory.

The Pataxo tribe thus lived near the coast. According to Romario, an indigenous family head, their name comes from the sound of the waves that tirelessly break on the beaches: pa-ta-xo-pa-ta-xo-pa-ta-xo!

It was Ramario who invited us to stay in their village for a while. He even hosted us that night in a small house next to his! The natives stay mainly in their reserve, and rarely go to town. They managed to maintain a way of life very close to nature.

Besides, today is a very special day. They organize a ceremony whose objective is to enter into communion with the trees that surround them. They use kinds of very fine brushes, dipped in black ink, to draw patterns on their faces and bodies. They don colorful costumes and adorn themselves with the feathers of forest birds. They put on bracelets of dried pods around their ankles, and equip themselves with kinds of maracas containing seeds which represent the spirits of their ancestors.

Thus equipped and prepared, they begin to sing together ancient songs in the Pataxo language. In doing so, they beat the time with their maracas and their feet, which produce, thanks to the pods with which their ankles are provided, a short clicking sound similar to rain.

They thus celebrate the absolute dependence between their life and that of the forest which surrounds them, and which brings them their subsistence. In Darwin’s time, the natives were already being roughed up by European settlers. Certain bloody episodes recounted in the Voyage of the Beagle attest to the violence of the colonization of Brazilian lands. But even today, some tribes survive and manage to keep this special bond that unites them to nature.

The Arboretum project, which I told you about yesterday, has the intelligence to take these ancient customs into consideration in its reforestation strategy. Like the Pataxos, he assumes that the good health of the natural ecosystem as a whole is the basis for the proper functioning of the human societies that depend on it.

If it is quite improbable that we will dance one day all adorned with multicolored feathers, it seems to me quite appropriate to be inspired by the Pataxo philosophy. I venture to summarize it as follows: it is benevolence towards Nature which is the first condition for a sustainable and happy society.