Land Protection Advances for Uncontacted Indigenous Community

A long-awaited land demarcation process has begun in Brazil, strengthening protection for the uncontacted Kawahiva people and helping safeguard their forest home from illegal activities and environmental destruction.

“Kawahiva Indigenous land is an example of a region which, despite very high levels of rural violence, has not suffered any deforestation for two years,” said Beto Marubo, an Indigenous leader from the Javari Valley.

The official marking of the 410,000-hectare territory follows 27 years of efforts to secure recognition and protection for the nomadic hunter-gatherer community. The process is designed to help protect the area from illegal logging, mining, land grabbing and agricultural expansion while preserving one of the Amazon’s most vulnerable Indigenous populations. Indigenous territories have consistently recorded some of the lowest rates of deforestation in the region, highlighting their importance for both cultural survival and environmental conservation. Authorities are also planning buffer zones around the territory to strengthen long-term protection and support the preservation of the surrounding ecosystem.