{"id":264767,"date":"2025-11-05T17:38:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T17:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/264767\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T17:38:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T17:38:16","slug":"a-decade-after-mariana-dam-collapse-cop30-tests-brazils-commitment-to-environmental-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/264767\/","title":{"rendered":"A decade after Mariana dam collapse, COP30 tests Brazil’s commitment to environmental justice"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) \u2014 A week before what the Indigenous Krenak people now call \u201cthe death of the river,\u201d<\/a> they say they could feel it coming. The birds stopped singing, the air grew heavy, and an unusual silence settled over their village in Minas Gerais, a southeastern Brazilian state where forested hills give way to the winding Doce River.<\/p>\n

Then, on Nov. 5, 2015, the mud came.<\/p>\n

A mining dam owned by Samarco \u2014 a joint venture between Brazilian company Vale and Anglo-Australian giant BHP Billiton \u2014 burst upstream near the town of Mariana, unleashing a torrent of toxic iron ore waste. It buried the nearby community of Bento Rodrigues and swept down the Doce River valley, killing 19 people<\/a> and contaminating waterways for nearly 600 kilometers (370 miles) before reaching the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n

For the Krenak people, who once relied on the river for food, rituals, and daily life, the damage was not just environmental but spiritual. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the saddest day for my people,\u201d said Shirley Djukurn\u00e3 Krenak, an Indigenous leader whose community has lived for generations along the Doce River. \u201cWe felt the death of the river before it arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Rescue<\/p>\n

Rescue workers search for victims after a dam burst in the town of Bento Rodrigues in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, Nov. 8, 2015. (AP Photo\/Felipe Dana, File)<\/p>\n

Rescue workers search for victims after a dam burst in the town of Bento Rodrigues in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, Nov. 8, 2015. (AP Photo\/Felipe Dana, File)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

The Mariana disaster poured an estimated 40 million tons of mining waste into the Doce basin, devastating one of Brazil\u2019s most ancient river systems, whose valley has shaped the landscape of Minas Gerais for millions of years. <\/p>\n

Ten years later, reconstruction and reparations have dragged on through legal disputes, and the river remains contaminated by heavy metals. Local communities say little has changed, even as Brazil strives to define itself as a leader of global climate policy while hosting the United Nation\u2019s COP30 climate summit \u2014 an event some are skeptical will bring change.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, the fight isn\u2019t about speeches at COP,\u201d Krenak said. \u201cIt\u2019s about survival.\u201d<\/p>\n

A test for Brazil\u2019s climate credibility<\/p>\n

Brazilian President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva now hopes to cement his reputation as a global environmental leader at COP30 in Belem, at the heart of the Amazon. Yet the unresolved legacy of Mariana and other recent policy moves reveal the distance between Brazil\u2019s climate discourse and reality, according to Maur\u00edcio Guetta, legal policy director at the advocacy group Avaaz.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s contradictory for a country that wants to lead on climate to keep approving laws that reduce protection for nature and Indigenous rights,\u201d he said, adding that Indigenous territories are among the world\u2019s most effective barriers against deforestation.<\/p>\n

Indigenous congresswoman C\u00e9lia Xakriab\u00e1, who represents Minas Gerais, said the tragedy remains \u201ca crime still in progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Doce River is still sick. The fish are contaminated, the people are ill, and children still ask when the river will be healed,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can\u2019t bring back 19 lives, and you can\u2019t bring back a healthy river.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xakriab\u00e1 said the lack of justice for Mariana victims undermines Brazil\u2019s credibility ahead of the summit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to talk about climate leadership when the state where this crime happened hasn\u2019t even recovered,\u201d she said. \u201cTrue environmental policy starts with justice for those living the consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A car sits on top of a wall of a home, destroyed when a dam burst in Bento Rodrigues, Brazil, on Nov. 23, 2015. (AP Photo\/Leo Correa)<\/p>\n

A car sits on top of a wall of a home, destroyed when a dam burst in Bento Rodrigues, Brazil, on Nov. 23, 2015. (AP Photo\/Leo Correa)<\/p>\n

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After the 2015 collapse, the state of Minas Gerais weakened its environmental licensing laws \u2014 a move Guetta said directly contributed to the Brumadinho dam disaster in 2019<\/a>, which killed 270 people.<\/p>\n

In October 2024, Brazil\u2019s government and the states of Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo signed a 132 billion-reais ($23 billion) settlement with Samarco<\/a>, the mine\u2019s operator, and its owners, Vale and BHP, to fund social and environmental repairs. The record deal which will bring the total payment to 170 billion-reais ($30 billion) includes aid for affected communities, but critics say deeper flaws in Brazil\u2019s environmental governance remain.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mariana disaster showed how fragile Brazil\u2019s system of environmental control really is,\u201d Guetta said. \u201cInstead of learning from it, we\u2019ve seen a process of deregulation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brazil\u2019s Congress approved a law in 2023, which restricts Indigenous land claims, and this year passed<\/a> what activists call the \u201cdevastation bill,\u201d which would relax environmental licensing nationwide. Environmentalists warn both threaten to undermine the country\u2019s own climate goals under the Paris Agreement, the 2015 global pact to curb greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming. <\/p>\n

Now, Brazil\u2019s Congress is also considering a national bill that would further loosen oversight of mining and industrial projects and \u201cpractically dismantle Brazil\u2019s environmental licensing system,\u201d Guetta said.<\/p>\n

He added that Brazil\u2019s environmental agencies remain underfunded and understaffed, even as mining and agribusiness expand deeper into fragile ecosystems. <\/p>\n

Brazil\u2019s environment ministry did not respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n

Skepticism over \u2018Indigenous COP\u2019<\/p>\n

Krenak told The Associated Press that her community will not be attending COP30. She sees the climate summit as distant from the realities faced by Indigenous peoples and full of \u201cgreenwashing\u201d and false promises. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf all the previous COPs had worked, we wouldn\u2019t still be talking about crimes like this,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Instead, she said, true climate action begins with protecting rivers and forests \u2014 and recognizing Indigenous territories. <\/p>\n

Anthropologist Ana Magdalena Hurtado, who has spent decades working with Indigenous communities in South America, said she shares that concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy worry is, this all looks very pretty, but the people who will walk away feeling wonderful are the urban academics and policymakers \u2014 not those living in remote territories,\u201d said Hurtado, a professor of anthropology and global health at Arizona State University.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A rescue worker walks between destroyed houses after a dam burst in the town of Bento Rodrigues, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, Nov. 8, 2015. (AP Photo\/Felipe Dana, File)<\/p>\n

A rescue worker walks between destroyed houses after a dam burst in the town of Bento Rodrigues, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, Nov. 8, 2015. (AP Photo\/Felipe Dana, File)<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

She said dedicating space to Indigenous voices at COP30 is a welcome step, but warned that inclusion without follow-up can do more harm than good.<\/p>\n

As COP30 kicks off, many Indigenous leaders share that skepticism but remain hopeful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still believe change is possible,\u201d Krenak said. \u201cThat one day, our children will be able to drink a glass of water without fear of dying.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Melina Walling contributed to this report from Chicago. <\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

The Associated Press\u2019 climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s standards<\/a> for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) \u2014 A week before what the Indigenous Krenak people now call \u201cthe death of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264768,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[13438,154929,64,63,11308,32314,2791,6045,17881,68,75,482,35315,795,154931,2186,154930,154933,128,154932,11298,59056,1346],"class_list":{"0":"post-264767","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-amazon-com","9":"tag-ana-magdalena-hurtado","10":"tag-au","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-brazil","13":"tag-brazil-government","14":"tag-central-america","15":"tag-climate","16":"tag-climate-and-environment","17":"tag-climate-change","18":"tag-environment","19":"tag-general-news","20":"tag-government-policy","21":"tag-inc","22":"tag-indigenous-people","23":"tag-latin-america","24":"tag-luiz-incio-lula-da-silva","25":"tag-mining-accidents","26":"tag-science","27":"tag-shirley-djukurn-krenak","28":"tag-south-america","29":"tag-waterways","30":"tag-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264767\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}