Supreme court upholds Urgenda ruling, Dutch state must cut pollution

DutchNews, December 20, 2019

Photo: DutchNews.nl

The Dutch state is required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to protect the health of its people, the Dutch Supreme Court said on Friday, ending a seven year legal process. 

The court said that the Dutch courts do have the power to determine if the government is meeting its obligations, as set down in the European treaty of human rights, which commits the state to protecting its citizens. 

The ruling, greeted by cheers from supporters, means that the government must now reduce greenhouse gas pollution by 25% by the end of next year, when compared with 1990, the court said. 

Friday’s ruling finalises an appeal court ruling from October 2018, in which the state was ordered to step up its efforts to combat pollution. Economic affairs minister Erik Wiebes said at the time that the Netherlands would comply with the ruling, even though it had ‘set democracy to one side’. 

Today’s Supreme Court case focused on the legal processes, rather than the actual merits of the case, and was brought by the government to establish if courts have the power to make such judgements. 

In October 2018, the appeal court ordered the Dutch state to step up efforts to cut CO2 emissions, despite the government’s claim that the issue should be left up to parliament. The court said the state had a ‘duty of care’ to protect its citizens from the impact of climate change. 

At the initial court case in 2015, judges ruled that the government is required it to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% of 1990 levels by 2020, in line with international treaties. It was the first time a court had ruled that a national government was legally bound to follow through on promises made in international climate agreements. 

Failing 

Various researchers suggest the Netherlands is on course to reduce CO2 emissions by only 19% to 23% of 1990 levels by next year. 

The government must now decide what measures it should take to speed up the process. Potential solutions include closing coal-fired power stations sooner than planned. The speed limit on motorways is already being reduced next year to reduce pollution following another court case. 

The Urgenda case was started in 2012 by a group of some 900 individuals who said they would take the government to court unless it started acting seriously to prevent climate change. 

Founder Marjan Minnesma said after the ruling that she is extremely happy. ‘We have put together a plan for the government with 50 measures that they could take to still make the 25% reduction,’ she said.

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“Afraid of Love” + “What’s Wrong Today”, Laguna Hills, California, US(2), Dec 9, 2018 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

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• Shortage of fresh/drinking water: Invention to make salt from salt water magnetic and remove it with water desalination process in high volumes
• Pollution on Earth: 1 - Stop killing the environment! / 2 - The rise of temperature on Earth is “temporary” and is part of the "regular" Watercycle.
• Replacement of current fossil energy source: Use of magnetics based (small/big) engines to produces electricity / free energy
• Plastic pollution in the oceans: Invention to remove the plastics gradually from the oceans

Dutch inventors roll out river plastic clean-up barge
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Photo: The Ocean Cleanup

Smoke haze settles over Australian capital as bushfires burn

Yahoo – AFP, December 8, 2019

The scale of this year's bushfire devastation has been widely described as
unprecedented (AFP Photo/SAEED KHAN)

Sydney (AFP) - Smoke haze from bushfires raging in Australia spread to the capital Sunday, as firefighters raced to contain more than 140 blazes ahead of a heatwave forecast early this week.

Australia is experiencing a horrific start to its fire season, which scientists say began earlier and is more extreme this year due to a prolonged drought and the effects of climate change.

Residents of Canberra in the country's southeast woke up to see the capital shrouded in haze Sunday, joining those in Sydney who have endured weeks of toxic air pollution caused by bushfire smoke.

Officials said favourable weather conditions had given them a chance to bring several blazes under control before the forecast return of strong winds and high temperatures Tuesday.

Among those is a "mega fire" burning across 250,000 hectares within an hour's drive of Sydney, Australia's largest city, where ash from the fires has occasionally fallen.

Firefighters are now bracing for Tuesday, when temperatures are expected to reach above 40 Celsius in parts of New South Wales state -- worst-hit by the bushfires -- and gusting westerly winds are likely to fan the flames.

"Today (fire) crews will be doing what they can to consolidate and strengthen containment lines, which in some areas will include backburning," NSW Rural Fire Service spokesman Greg Allan told AFP.

Nearly 50 reinforcements from the United States and Canada have been flown 

in to support fatigued firefighters (AFP Photo/SAEED KHAN)

But the state's Bureau of Meteorology warned that the massive fires are "in some cases just too big to put out at the moment".

"They're pumping out vast amounts of smoke which is filling the air, turning the sky orange & even appearing like significant rain on our radars," the department tweeted.

Nearly 50 reinforcements from the United States and Canada have been flown in to support fatigued firefighters in recent days, with the international contingent tasked with providing logistical assistance.

In neighbouring Queensland, the focus was also on managing fatigue among frontline firefighters -- who in both states are almost all volunteers -- as weather there provided a brief reprieve from weeks of battling blazes.

"We're just looking to wind down and recover and prepare for the next round, whenever that may be," a Queensland Fire and Emergency Service spokesman told AFP.

Since the crisis began in September, six people have been killed, more than 700 homes destroyed and an estimated two million hectares (almost five million acres) scorched.

Though the human toll has been far lower than the deadliest fire season in 2009 -- when almost 200 people died -- the scale of this year's devastation has been widely described as unprecedented, as Australians grapple with the impacts of a changing climate.

Official data shows 2019 is on track to be one of the hottest and driest years on record in Australia.

Merkel urges Delhi to go green amid smog emergency

Yahoo – AFP, Aishwarya KUMAR, November 2, 2019

Merkel became a rare foreign leader to speak out on India's smog crisis after
being exposed to the capital's air on Friday, when authorities said the pollution
had reached "emergency" levels (AFP Photo/Prakash SINGH)

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel urged greater efforts to clean up New Delhi's toxic air as she pledged one billion euros to help Indian cities switch to green transport.

Merkel became a rare foreign leader to speak out on India's smog crisis after being exposed to the capital's air on Friday, when authorities said the pollution had reached "emergency" levels.

Schools were ordered closed until Tuesday and all construction halted, while Delhi authorities started distributing millions of anti-pollution masks to children.

The same day, Merkel went on a ceremonial parade in the city with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday as the smog intensified.

Neither leader wore masks despite authorities telling residents to stay indoors to avoid the haze.

Merkel said that Germany would spend one billion euros on "green" urban transport projects in India over the next five years, including 200 million euros to replace diesel buses in Tamil Nadu state.

"These diesel buses are to be replaced by electric buses and anyone who saw the pollution in Delhi yesterday would find very good arguments for replacing even more of these buses," Merkel said in the widely reported speech.

Much of the new peak in the most dangerous PM 2.5 pollutants -- particulates smaller than 2.5 microns that get into the lungs and bloodstream -- has been blamed on fires lit by farmers to burn off wheat crop residues outside of the capital.

Higher winds improved air quality on Saturday but pollution remained "severe", according to government monitors.

Some Bangladesh players and bowling coach Daniel Vettori trained in masks at the
Arun Jaitley stadium where the Twenty20 match is to be played (AFP Photo/STR)

Cricket match

The city will be under a new spotlight on Sunday when India play Bangladesh in a cricket international.

The two teams have insisted they will go ahead with the match despite the pollution threat.

Some Bangladesh players and bowling coach Daniel Vettori trained in masks at the Arun Jaitley stadium, where the Twenty20 match is to be played.

Authorities have ordered trees in and around the stadium to be sprayed with water to collect dust.

They have also set up special patrols to stop construction work and garbage burning.

Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad said the team had spoken about the pollution dangers but there was little they could do.

"When we came here there was smog, we all know, but the players have practiced for last three days, trying to adapt to the conditions." he said.

"It's not within our control, we have to focus on our cricket."

Delhi has faced a mounting pollution crisis over the past decade.

Fourteen Indian cities including the capital are among the world's top 15 most polluted cities, according to the United Nations.

According to one study, smog kills a million Indians prematurely every year.

India's top court has ordered a complete halt to stubble burning around Delhi, a major contributor to lethal smog that on Tuesday kept the metropolis of 20 million people choking in air rated "very poor" https://t.co/DBnxgKI0t2 #DelhiAirQuality pic.twitter.com/gXUDdr6XHI

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 5 november 2019

Britain calls halt on fracking following government U-turn

Yahoo – AFP, James PHEBY and Pauline FROISSART, November 2, 2019

The British government has imposed a moratorium on fracking at Cuadrilla
Resources' site at Preston New Road (AFP Photo/Oli SCARFF)

London (AFP) - The British government called a halt Saturday to the controversial process of "fracking" due to fears it could trigger earthquakes in a surprise U-turn just weeks before a general election.

Until now, Britain had hoped that fracking -- banned in many countries, but booming in the United States -- could help secure its future energy independence.

But with just a few weeks to go before Britain goes to the polls -- where environmental issues are expected to feature prominently -- Business and Energy Secretary Andrea Leadsom announced a "moratorium" at what is currently the UK's only operational shale gas well in Lancashire, northwest England.

"I have concluded that we should put a moratorium on fracking in England with immediate effect," Leadsom said.

"It is clear that we cannot rule out future unacceptable impacts on the local community."

The U-turn follows a report by Britain's Oil and Gas Authority into recent seismic activity at Preston New Road, a site operated by exploration and production company Cuadrilla.

The OGA report found that it was not currently possible to accurately predict the technology's potential for triggering earthquakes.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he had "very considerable anxieties" about the extraction of shale gas.

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn dismissed the government's about-turn as merely a PR stunt ahead of the general election.

How fracking works (AFP Photo/Jonathan JACOBSEN)

"The Conservatives' temporary pause of fracking is an election stunt to try and win a few votes," he tweeted.

"Boris Johnson described fracking as 'glorious news for humanity'. We cannot trust him."

Ban or boom?

Fracking or hydraulic fracturing is used to release oil and gas locked deep underground.

It is carried out by blasting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals underground to release shale oil and gas.

Environmentalists argue that the process contaminates water supplies, hurts wildlife, causes earthquakes and contributes to global climate change.

It is banned in many countries, including France and Germany, and the United Kingdom's other constituent members -- Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland -- are opposed to it.

Nevertheless, eyeing the boom in fracking in the US, the British government still views the technology as a potential opportunity to reduce its dependence on gas from Norway and Qatar.

When asked on BBC radio on Saturday why the government was not banning it altogether, Leadsom insisted that fracking represented "a huge opportunity for the United Kingdom."

The British Geological Survey estimates that the Cuadrilla site holds up to 2,300 trillion cubic feet (90 trillion cubic metres) of shale gas, which could theoretically fill Britain's natural gas needs for more than a thousand years.

In 2016, the Conservative government estimated that some 20 shale wells could be opened by the middle of next year, but only three wells have been drilled to date.

Public opposition to fracking in Britain is on the rise (AFP Photo/Paul ELLIS)

Public mistrust of shale gas extraction is rising sharply.

According to the National Audit Office, opposition among Britons has risen to 40 percent from 21 percent since 2013.

"Public concern has centred on the risks to the environment and public health, from fracking-induced earthquakes, and the adequacy of the environmental regulations in place," it said.

Protests broke out as last year as work began at Cuadrilla's Preston New Road site.

The project was opposed by local authorities, residents and environmentalists, who launched legal action to block operations.

Cuadrilla's first attempt at fracking seven years ago was ended after it triggered minor earthquakes, putting their plans on hold while more stringent measures were put in place.

On Saturday, the government said it would "take a presumption against issuing any further Hydraulic Fracturing Consents" unless new evidence was provided.

'Fantastic win'

Environmental campaign groups hailed the government announcement.

Tom Fyans, deputy chief executive of countryside charity CPRE, called it a "fantastic win".

"Today we celebrate alongside the local communities, campaigners and environmentalists who have been campaigning valiantly to stop fracking for many years."

Rebecca Newsom at Greenpeace described the turnaround as a "fiasco" for the government.

And Craig Bennett, head of the NGO Friends of the Earth, said the moratorium was a "huge victory for the population and for the environment".

"For nearly a decade, local communities all around the country have fought a David versus Goliath battle against this powerful industry," he said, adding that he hoped the ban would now become permanent.

"Labour would ban fracking. That's real change," opposition leader Corbyn tweeted.

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"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“… 4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet; again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much…

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet. 

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four.”

“Afraid of Love” + “What’s Wrong Today”, Laguna Hills, California, US(2), Dec 9, 2018 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

• Stagnation of the current US Politics: Compassioned (US) leaders will arise in the future
• Shortage of fresh/drinking water: Invention to make salt from salt water magnetic and remove it with water desalination process in high volumes
• Pollution on Earth: 1 - Stop killing the environment! / 2 - The rise of temperature on Earth is “temporary” and is part of the "regular" Watercycle.
• Replacement of current fossil energy source: Use of magnetics based (small/big) engines to produces electricity / free energy
• Plastic pollution in the oceans: Invention to remove the plastics gradually from the oceans

Buzz kill: mass bee deaths sting Russian beekeepers

Yahoo –AFP, Maria ANTONOVA, 1 August 2019

Russian beekeepers south of Moscow have been seeing their bees die off en
masse due to what they believe is improper sraying of an insecticide that is
still legal in Russia but has been banned in the EU

Anatoly Rubtsov looked despondently at the beehives lining his property. "The farm used to be loud, it sang," he said. Today just a faint buzz is audible but an overpowering rotting stench hung in the air after his bees were likely poisoned by a pesticide.

Rubtsov, who keeps a large honeybee farm on the edge of a small village in the Tula region south of Moscow, is one of hundreds of beekeepers across Russia to report mass bee deaths that have robbed them of their livelihood.

Eighty-two bee colonies -- almost the entire farm -- have died since early July, and the survivors will unlikely make it through the winter, he said.

That is over three million dead bees and Rubtsov estimated his losses at 1.6 million rubles ($25,000).

All the bees in the vicinity have met the same fate.

People around Bobrovka are certain that the culprit is a local company growing rapeseed, a cash crop with yellow flowers used for cooking oil, cattle feed, and biofuel, that treated its fields with insecticides on July 4.

Viktor Morozov, another beekeeper who kept hives in a nearby forest, filmed empty pesticide containers lying on the ground alongside the rapeseed fields, but said the workers denied using a strong insecticide that contains fipronil.

A lab in Moscow eventually confirmed the presence on the rapeseed plants of fipronil, which is legal in Russia provided certain precautions are taken but banned in the EU.

"They broke all the rules possible" regarding spraying, said Rubtsov.

NT Agri, the accused company, denied that it broke any rules. "We followed all instructions," said its director Irina Trubitsina.

"Flowering rapeseed is a big attraction for the bees, so it was like an ambush," said Rubtsov.

Worker bees gathered the toxic nectar and brought it to the hive, where even bees born days later were poisoned.

Beekeeper Anatoly Rubtsov has lost nearly all of his hives

"They are the living dead," he said, peering at the bees crawling chaotically on the bottom of one hive, unable to fly. "The whole farm is doomed."

'Rapeseed takeover'

Russia's agriculture watchdog confirmed the bee deaths were caused by uncontrolled use of insecticides and acknowledged that their use is not being monitored closely.

"The volumes of pesticides being used and their quality aren't checked by the government," spokeswoman Yulia Melano told Russian news agencies.

Fipronil had been used widely in the European Union before a 2017 scandal when it was found in Dutch eggs after being used illegally to treat chicken stables.

Studies have shown that the neurotoxin fipronil, along with so-called neonicotinoid substances used in other pesticides, can cause bee colonies to collapse and harm other insects such as butterflies, as well as worms and fish.

The EU banned the use of fipronil and most neonicotinoids on outdoor crops in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

In Russia, they are still allowed: fipronil can be sprayed on potatoes, grains and pastures -- but only at night in non-windy weather, with bees kept away for several days.

Those requirements were ignored by farmers growing rapeseed in the Tula region, beekepers told AFP.

They are bitter that Europe makes environmentally-friendly biodiesel from Russian rapeseed grown with pesticides that the EU has banned for use at home.

"The pesticides banned in Europe have all been dumped here in Russia," Morozov said angrily. "Somebody has to take responsibility."

Rapeseed cultivation has doubled in Russia over the past decade with most of the processed oil exported abroad.

The bees still alive can't fly

"Rapeseed has taken over the whole region," said Morozov, who lost 50 bee colonies in July -- the worst catastrophe in his 40 years as a beekeeper.

But rapeseed is a delicate crop and experts say farmers are tempted to take more radical steps as pests become resistent to certain chemicals.

"Pesticides are expensive, and sometimes they dilute them with cheap toxins and ignore application rules," said Anna Brandorf, who heads Russia's national beekeeping research centre.

Not only is use of pesticides not monitored, she noted, but nobody coordinates between beekeepers and farmers about their use.

Global crisis

Brandorf said Russia is beginning to experience the same bee crisis as other parts of the world -- one that has alarmed scientists and constitutes a threat to our food supply -- and has already forced some Chinese farmers to pollinate crops by hand.

Tula is just one of 30 Russian regions that have experienced large-scale bee deaths this summer, according to the country's beekeeping association.

The agriculture ministry said the deaths inflicted "considerable damage" on beekeeping nationwide. It estimated that about 300,000 colonies have perished, out of a total of about 3.3 million.

This has taken a toll on beekeepers, with Rubtsov saying several of his colleagues have had heart attacks from the stress.

Some are fighting for compensation, but even when they have evidence they face a long, often uphill battle in Russian courts. Many others haven't bothered.

Brandorf believes that following the loss of their hives many beekeepers will simply quit, as with no government support, the profession is becoming unprofitable.

"It's becoming easier to just close bee farms," she said.

Russian beekeepers south of Moscow have been seeing their bees die off en masse due to what they believe is improper sraying of an insecticide that is still legal in Russia but has been banned in the EU

Beekeeper Anatoly Rubtsov has lost nearly all of his hives

The bees still alive can't fly.

Bulb field pesticides found in babies’ nappies: report

DutchNews, March 7, 2019

Depositphotos.com

People who live nex to bulb fields are exposed to up to ten times the concentrations of pesticides compared to people who live more than 250 metres away, according to current affairs programme Zembla. 

The figures come from research commissioned by the infrastructure minister after it transpired there are no specific safety measures in place for the 2.2 million people who live near agricultural fields where pesticides are used. 

Some 5.7 million kilos of chemicals were sprayed on Dutch fields in 2017, mostly by bulb growers. 

The report, by a  group of independent toxicologists, found a year-round increased presence of the chemicals, both in people’s gardens and inside the home. 

Although the research did not include the effects of the chemicals on health, the report recommends that crop treatment with chemicals should take place at least ‘a couple of hundred metres from urban areas with people with families’, Utrecht University toxicologist Martin van den Berg told Zembla. 

Head of the research group professor Roel Vermeulen confirmed children in particular would be sensitive to the effects of pesticides. 

‘The main conclusion is the presence of higher concentrations of pesticides within the 250 metre radius,’ Vermeulen said. ‘Pesticides were found in urine samples of adults and in babies’ nappies, and children in particular are extra sensitive to their effects on health.’ 

More research is need to establish how damaging the effects are but in the meantime the government should apply the prevention principle, Van den Berg said. ‘If you are not sure if the amount of poison you are exposed to actually leads to damage to health, but you can’t say it doesn’t, you must opt for less exposure,’ he told Zembla. 

Three years

It is the first time the degree of exposure to chemicals used in agriculture has been measured in such detail. 

The research, which took place over three years, looked at the concentrations of chemicals in urine, dust, air, and gardens. ‘It was unique because we could establish that over a longer period of time and at bigger distances from the fields there were still elevated concentrations of pesticides present,’ Van den Berg said. 

The final report will be presented to the relevant ministries at the end of April.

Germany moots tougher insect protections

The StraitsTimes – AFP, 17 Feb 2019

German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze has put forth an action plan for
 protecting insects that would provide annual funding of 100 million euros
(S$153 million) to the cause. (Photo: AFP)

FRANKFURT (AFP) - Germany plans an insect protection law to slash use of pesticides and pump tens of millions of euros into research, a minister said Sunday (Feb 17), as global concern grows over mankind's impact on the crucial invertebrates.

"We human beings need insects, they deserve to be protected with their own law," Environment Minister Svenja Schulze told weekly Bild am Sonntag.

Her "action plan for protecting insects", seen by news agency DPA, would provide annual funding of 100 million euros (S$153 million) for the cause, including 25 million euros for research.

Germany would also stop covering new land with concrete for roads or home construction until 2050, and limit light emissions at night to avoid disorienting the six-legged creatures.

The federal government would set rules for "environmentally and naturally bearable application of pesticides and significant reduction of their input and that of other harmful substances into insect habitats," according to the document.

Schulze's scheme would include a ban by 2023 for hotly-debated herbicide glyphosate - overtaking neighbour France, which has yet to set a firm date.

But the Social Democratic Party (SPD) minister could face difficulty pushing her law past members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

The senior coalition partner in Berlin holds the critical agriculture ministry and is traditionally closer to farmers.

"We wouldn't only be protecting stag beetles and bumblebees, but above all ourselves" by preserving insects, Schulze said.

Campaigners worldwide have highlighted the risks of declining insect numbers, noting the arthropods are vital for pollenating plants - including food crops - and as food sources for larger animals like birds.

Last week, a record 1.75 million people in prosperous south German state Bavaria signed a petition for a referendum to "save the bees", calling for more organic farming and green spaces and increased protection from agricultural chemicals.

The referendum campaign was opposed by the powerful regional farmers' association, which warned of potential financial costs to the industry and urged the population to "stop bashing farmers".

Brazilian indigenous community threatened in aftermath of dam burst

Yahoo – AFP, Rosa SULLEIRO, February 1, 2019

An indigenous woman of the Pataxo Ha-ha-hae community crying as she looks out
over the Paraopeba river, filled with mud after a disastrous dam collapse in Brazil's
Minas Gerais state (AFP Photo/Mauro Pimentel)

São Joaquim de Bicas (Brazil) (AFP) - In her 88 years, Antonia Alves has seen much hardship as a member of Brazil's indigenous community, whose people have often been driven from their ancestral lands over conflicts with farmers and loggers.

Until a few days ago, she had never seen an entire river die right before her eyes.

This is the unthinkable ecological nightmare her people are facing, however, after a dam storing mining waste collapsed in Minas Gerais state in southeast Brazil, engulfing the village of Brumadinho, where 110 people have been confirmed dead.

Another 238 unfortunates are still missing, hopes of their recovery all but gone in the toxic wave of sludge that engulfed them, suffocating everything in its path to the Paraopeba river.

The brown waters, which reek of dead fish, reached as far as Nao Xoha, a village sheltered by the Atlantic rainforest 14 miles (22 kilometers) from the burst dam.

Alves and her small branch of the Pataxo Ha-Ha-Hae indigenous people settled in the forest a year and a half ago, relocating from their strife-torn ancestral lands in the north to live in nature according to their customs.

"It is very sad because we lived off the river," said Alves, her face lined by age and sun, head crowned with a band of white and purple feathers.

A member of the Pataxo Ha-ha-hae community carrying a cooking pan along a
path through the forest (AFP Photo/Mauro Pimentel)

"We bathed there, took our water from it, washed our clothes there and fished from it. Indians live from fishing and hunting."

Alves' neighbor Jocelia Josi describes the stench as she pulled dead fish from what formerly an important tributary of the Sao Francisco, the longest entirely-Brazilian river.

'Village of resistance'

"Now we don't have any more food from there," said the 46-year-old, who is waiting for her daughter and three-month-old grandson to return from the state capital Belo Horizonte, where they were evacuated after the disaster.

It is lunchtime in Nao Xoha -- which means "warrior spirit" in the community's native tongue -- and Alves and her husband Gervasio, a serene elder of 93, are waiting for their daughter to finish cooking outside their modest hut.

But today is no normal day. Nothing has been normal here since Dam Number 1, owned by mining giant Vale, burst last Friday, dramatically changing the lives of the 27 families living in the village.

Nao Xoha lacks its own medic, but a doctor has checked up on the 15 people who were not evacuated, and volunteers have brought supplies to the community, which always lacked electricity and now has no water.

Hayo Pataxo ha-ha-hae, the 29-year-old leader of the indigenous community, 

looks at the Paraopeba river, filled with toxic mud from the Brumadinho dam

collapse, where his community used to catch fish to eat (AFP Photo/Mauro Pimentel)

To reach the village, visitors have to cross a railway line where cargo trains pass and then enter the verdant Atlantic rainforest.

The dam breach unleashed a torrent of almost 13 million cubic tons of mud that swept across the countryside before reaching the river.

But its impact spreads even further than the vast scar of mud that rescue services are probing for the bodies of the missing.

The government of Minas Gerais has warned that the metal-tainted waters present a health risk and organizations like the WWF have said the environmental impact will be felt for years to come.

"They have taken away part of our reserve, killed a part of it, but we are a village of resistance and we will get over this," said community leader Hayo Pataxo Ha-ha-hae, who sported a head dress made of palm fronds.

"We will carry on even if the river has died. Nature depends on us to preserve it."

'Lack of respect'

He had just attended another meeting with FUNAI -- the Brazilian government body responsible for indigenous peoples' interests -- and said it was too early to determine what action the community would take against Vale.

He simply insisted that his people would resist, and defend their traditional lifestyle, just as they have for centuries.

A dead fish in the waters of the Paraopeba river, near the town of Brumadinho where 

a dam full of mining waste collapsed on January 25 (AFP Photo/Mauro Pimentel)

"It shows a lack of respect towards us", said Tahh'a, a well-built watchman aged 55, his frown wrinkling the black paint on his face.

"The biggest loss for us is the fish, because we are not permitted to hunt around here," he said, holding a pointed stick in his hand, a machete dangling from his hip.

While the full extent of the environmental impact remains unclear, the precedents are not encouraging.

No one here can forget the destruction of the Rio Doce river, also in Minas Gerais, which was devastated by the collapse in 2015 of the Mariana dam, the biggest environmental disaster in Brazilian history. That barrier was also jointly owned by Vale.

"I want to tell not only Vale, but also our leaders, to punish those guilty of doing this to our indigenous nation, together with the farmers and the families who lost people," said 29-year Hayo.

"How many more people have to be killed before the justice department takes notice?" he demanded.

"It is very sad," added Alves. "When are they going to clean up the river? When will there be fish in it again?"

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