TRIBAL chiefs from Brazil stressed the importance of the Amazon rainforest in a talk at Oxford University.
It has been the life’s work of Raoni Metuktire and Megaron Txucarramae to promote the interests of Amazonian indigenous tribes.
They spoke at Christ Church on Wednesday about their tribe, the Kayapo, which is opposed to the plan to build six hydroelectric dams on the Xingu River. The event also featured an Oxford-trained social anthropologist and ecologist Tom Griffiths, zoologist Andrew Mitchell and talks by journalists Chief Raoni Metuktire said: “This forest remains because indigenous people still live in it.”
Chief Megaron Txucarramae said: “Hope is alive on the raging rapids of the Xingu and the spirit of the rainforest is reflected in the eyes of the people who draw their lives from its beautiful waters.”
Dr Laura Rival, from the School of Anthropology, said: “We hope the event provided new insights from the people who are affected by the fast changing circumstances.”
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