The region of the upper Tapajós River is considered to be potentially the largest gold-producing region of the state of Pará. Most of the tributaries of this basin are now polluted with mercury, and the rivers transformed into streams of mud, as a result of the intensive gold-prospecting which has occurred over the last few years and which is currently in decline. The result of all this both for nature and for the health of the population is worrisome. In research done in 1999 by a team of specialists from the University of Brasília, alarming indices of mercury contamination were recorded in a significant number of Munduruku Indians.

Despite the decline of gold-panning activities on the Tapajós, the region has come to attract the interest of mining companies, and there are now in the DNPM (National Department of Mineral Production) scores of requests for research permits that fall within indigenous territory. In 2002, after a claims movement made by the Munduruku before the Funai and the Public Ministry, the de-activation of the Nova Vida prospecting site, which was determined to be inside the demarcated land near the eastern border, was done. However, the dangers of the prospectors’ return have not ended, despite the Munduruku’s having adopted measures to protect their area.

Hydroelectrics and waterways

Over the last few years, a new threat has arisen in the lives of the Munduruku: the gigantic hydroelectric projects of the 1990s have in some cases been replaced by waterways, announced as the solution to the problems of outlets for the large soy producers. In the region of the Tapajós, initially there were thoughts of planning a Highway/waterway which would cross through the Munduruku Indigenous Land with the building of a more than 400 kilometer long highway connecting Alta Floresta, in the state of Mato Grosso, to Jacareacanga, in Pará. Later, the proposal was transformed into the Tapajós-Teles Pires Waterway Project, with a proposal for construction works to be done on the rapids-filled stretch known as Rasteira up to the rapids of Pimental, near Itaituba. The lack of transparency in the proposal is totally disrespectful of the indigenous and riverine populations, representing a threat in a region where the riverine system is essential to the reproduction of the forest and the whole ecosystem, given that the feeder rivers of the Tapajós and which cut through the indigenous land turn into gigantic flooded areas in the flood season. In all aspects, the waterway project of the Tapajós is similar to the great undertakings of the past, being connected to colonization projects; for example, those which gave rise in the 1970s and ‘80s to the cities of northern Mato Grosso, such as Sinop, Guarantã and Alta Floresta.

Among the proposals, a project was elaborated, although totally illegal, for colonization in which plots would be delimited in the region of the São Benedito River, overlapping territory identified as belonging to the Kayabi people, according to work done by the FUNAI Work Group for Identification and Delimitation of this indigenous land which was concluded in 1993. To protect the Munduruku Indigenous Lands, which were demarcated in 2001, it is fundamental to undertake the demarcation and protection of the neighboring Kayabi Land/South Glebe. At the moment, due to the mobilization of sectors of the civilian society and the Munduruku, the Tapajós-Teles Pires waterway Project is prevented by a restraining order from the Federal Public Ministry.