Água Boa II, Rio Pardo de Minas - Minas Gerais, Brazil, 2018
This picture was taken in the Areião Plateau, an area of the Nascentes Geraizeiras Reserve, next to the Água Boa II community. Part of the plateau was deforested to make room for eucalyptus cultivation. This process was interrupted by the geraizeiros’ fight, but one can still see the red, stirred earth and, in the horizon, the eucalyptus crops, reminding what’s been planned for the region.
Eucalyptus monoculture is one of the biggest threats to geraizeiros’ communities. Labeled “the green desert”, the eucalyptus fields come with the deforestation of native vegetation and the intensive application of pesticides which contaminates the soil, making it infertile. The eucalyptus, as it is with the pine tree and other non-native vegetations, consumes a lot of water. That’s especially true for the eucalyptus variety that is grown in Brazil for paper and charcoal productions. In the context of the Cerrado’s complex and important hydrographic network, with most of its water stored underground, the eucalyptus monoculture causes a direct impact, resulting in rivers and springs drying up. In North Minas Gerais, the eucalyptus is mainly used in charcoal production. That same industry is frequently tied to accusations of modern slavery.
