Reforesting the Laklãnõ Xokleng Indigenous Land with its sacred tree, the araucaria, is the objective of a project created in western Santa Catarina. The work, according to the indigenous people participating in the initiative, has already resulted in 50,000 seedlings.
The araucaria, which is threatened with extinction, is sacred to the Xokleng culture. The tree and its seeds, the pine nuts, are part of the diet, rituals and even medicines produced by the indigenous people, who maintain eight villages spread over about 14 thousand hectares, on the outskirts of the Itajaí-Açu river, between the municipalities of Ibirama, José Boiteux, Vitor Meireles and Doutor Pedrinho, 260 kilometers from Florianópolis.
The population of xoklengs in Santa Catarina is estimated at 2,200 people. This area, claimed for demarcation, in fact, is the basis for the judgment in the STF (Supreme Federal Court) on the time frame thesis — a criterion according to which indigenous people could only request lands already occupied by them before the date of promulgation of the Constitution of 1988.
“The araucaria represents our life, the air we breathe, the sacred tree that our ancestors left for us more than 2,000 years ago”, says Isabel Gakran, who in her village holds the position of kujá, a young shaman.
She and her husband, Carl Gakran, are the founders of Instituto Zág (araucaria, in the Xokleng language). The reforestation project, which involves alternating areas of the Alto Vale do Itajaí, bears the same name.
The pine nut, the main food for the villages, is what gives rise to the seedlings, which are also part of the sacred ritual called “ãggla”.
“We dance, sing and talk with the seeds so that they grow perfect and strong”, explains Isabel, remembering that the children participate in the preparation. “We also receive non-indigenous children and school groups.”
To increase the number of seedlings, there are joint efforts. “We have already planted 50,000 seedlings in the Laklãnõ Xokleng Indigenous Land, but we also donate seedlings, as we want to reforest the entire Santa Catarina mountain range,” says Isabel.
The Zág project has already been awarded by the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, an NGO that encourages actions against the extinction of species. On the other hand, says Isabel, there is a lack of support from governments and public bodies.
“We do everything on our own and we have the costs of buying the biodegradable bags to make the seedlings”, he says. “We pay R$1 per bag, so we need to make a donation and ask for help.”
The botanist João de Deus Medeiros, a professor at UFSC (Federal University of Santa Catarina), highlights that, in addition to the practical relationship of subsistence and the sacred cult of the tree, there is the cultural rescue of the ethnic group. “That’s why planting, with a peculiar dynamic, involves the entire community and needs external support.”
The araucarias already represented 45% of the entire territory covered by forests in Santa Catarina. Today, however, only 2% of its original area is conserved in the state. The devastation intensified in the early 20th century with the expansion of trade.
“The region was one of the regions that suffered the most from logging, especially after the concession for the construction of the SP-RS railroad”, says Medeiros, citing the work on the São Paulo-Rio Grande Railroad.
He points out that, for the construction of the road, between 1911 and 1930, it is estimated that 15 million araucaria trees were felled. A loss of 48 million specimens of walnut, cinnamon, cedar and pines, among other trees, is also estimated.
Medeiros also criticizes the lack of public policies for the protection of forests, something that, in his view, was evident in the new environmental code of Santa Catarina. “It opens the way for the logging of araucaria and other endangered trees”, he evaluates.
The changes took effect in January 2022 and, according to the project, represent “historic progress for the protection of the environment and, at the same time, reduce bureaucratic processes”.
Among the changes is the transfer of responsibility for infraction notices and inspection from the Environmental Police to the municipal licensing agency. In addition, the creation of Administrative Boards allows greater defense to offenders, and the new code allows interventions in permanent conservation areas, such as the felling of trees without prior authorization, supported by what the text calls “sustainable economic exploitation”.
