The Ka’apor people are among several tribes in Brazil that have formed groups to patrol their homelands. Photo by Survival International

Illegal logging is on the rise again in Brazil despite efforts by tribes to keep outsiders away from their homelands in the Amazon rainforest.

Tribes have formed several groups to patrol the rainforest but they face constant death threats from loggers, some of whom have killed and murdered indigenous activists. Eusébio Ka’apor, a leader of the Ka’apor people, was killed in April.

“In terms of environmental crime in Brazil, crime pays,” Antonio de Oliveira, a federal police officer who works with one group, known as the Guardians, told the paper. “The state is not fulfilling its role.”

According to the paper, the National Indian Foundation -- the Brazilian government's equivalent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs -- has a budget of $159 million. The agency is helping to fund groups like the Guardians, the paper said.

Get the Story:
Defending the Amazon (The Washington Post 10/7)

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