Brazil Begins Demarcating 410,000-Hectare Kawahiva Territory After 27-Year Delay
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 13
Brazil Begins Demarcating 410,000-Hectare Kawahiva Territory After 27-Year Delay
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 13
Funai has started marking out the 410,000-hectare Pardo River Kawahiva territory in northwestern Brazil, a move aimed at protecting one of the Amazon’s most vulnerable uncontacted Indigenous communities.
The demarcation comes 27 years after specialists confirmed the group’s existence and is seen as critical to shielding the Kawahiva from armed land grabbers, illegal logging, mining and farm expansion.
Agribusiness-linked groups have repeatedly challenged the process in court, and Indigenous leaders warn Funai and federal police still need more staff and security to protect workers, markers and the territory itself.
Funai says it will create buffer zones around the reserve; campaigners note Indigenous lands have the Amazon’s lowest recent deforestation rates, and the Kawahiva area has recorded none for two years.
Formal recognition still requires the president’s signature, leaving the effort exposed to October’s election as advocates push faster protection for other isolated groups among Brazil’s 115 reported cases.
As Brazil fences off a tribal sanctuary, can it stop its own Congress from opening it for mining?
To save a nomadic people, Brazil is drawing fixed borders. Could this protection ultimately erase their culture?
27 Years Delayed: The Kawahiva Territory Demarcation, Ongoing Threats, and the Future of Indigenous Protection in Brazil
Overview
On May 13, 2026, the long-delayed demarcation of the Pardo River Kawahiva Indigenous territory finally began, marking a crucial step after 27 years of waiting. This process is vital for protecting the Kawahiva, an uncontacted group who have survived by staying hidden in their ancestral Amazon forests, resisting threats from large-scale agriculture and logging. Led by Jair Candor, who has worked to safeguard this land since the 1990s, the physical marking of the territory is a significant achievement. Survival International celebrates this milestone, recognizing its importance for both the Kawahiva’s survival and the preservation of the rainforest.