A study published today (15) in Nature Magazine shows that the protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon with the highest population densities of jaguars are in the places most pressured by habitat degradation caused by man. According to the research, deforestation, agricultural expansion including cattle pastures and farmland, and forest fires are prevalent in areas that are home to the largest populations of the feline. The study was carried out by the non-governmental organization WWF, the National Center for Research and Conservation of Carnivorous Mammals (Cenap) of the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMbio), and by partner researchers. The authors Juliano Bogoni, Valeria Boron, Carlos Peres, Maria Eduarda Coelho, Ronaldo Morato, and Marcelo Oliveira da Costa signed the research. Jaguar is on the list of endangered animals – Press Release/Centro de Instrução de Guerra na Selva Among the threatened spaces, the study identified ten protected areas that require emergency actions for the conservation of the Amazonian jaguar: the indigenous lands Apyterewa, Araribóia , Cachoeira Seca, Kayapó, Marãiwatsédé, Xingu Park, Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau, Yanomami, Terra do Meio Ecological Station and Mapinguari National Park. “Agricultural frontiers are getting closer. So, the jaguar leaves to attack more places. Also, there are more hunters within these areas. There are prospectors inside Yanomami land, and these guys hunt, and they hunt jaguar prey. They also set traps and kill the jaguars,” says co-author of the study, conservation specialist and leader of WWF-Brazil’s endangered species protection program, Marcelo Oliveira. The research analyzed 447 protected lands in the Brazilian Amazon, including 330 indigenous reserves. The analyzed areas correspond to 1,755,637 km², which represents 41.7% of the Brazilian Amazon, and are home to around 26,680 jaguars, according to the models applied in the study. Protection Researcher Marcelo Oliveira points out that the survey reinforces the role of indigenous lands as sanctuaries for jaguars and biodiversity. “The future of jaguars, even in the most intact neotropical regions such as the Amazon, is only secure in protected areas where land use restrictions can be rigorously enforced, and only if relentless political pressure to reduce the size can be resisted. , recategorize and extinguish protected areas. These spaces are central to safeguarding biodiversity, but they are under multiple geopolitical pressures”. Among the emergency actions suggested by the researchers are increasing funding and support for protected areas and indigenous lands, especially those prioritized by the study, reinforcing the participation of indigenous peoples and local communities in the decisions and management of their territories. The researchers also propose raising funds for environmental agencies, such as the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) and the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai), and the implementation of strong policies and legal frameworks that do not leave room for for the reduction, recategorization and extinction of protected areas. “We need to strengthen the management of these areas. Over the past four years, it has been extremely difficult with the weakening of the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai) and other bodies that promote oversight,” Oliveira said. The study can be read in full on the journal’s website.
Agência Brasil
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