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International ad campaign launched to protect uncontacted tribe
12 Apr 2010 11:23 AM
Survival International
has launched an international ad campaign calling for the protection of one of the last uncontacted tribes in
South America .
One ad shows the destruction of forest belonging to
Paraguay
’s
Ayoreo-Totobiegosode tribe
, which is being bulldozed to make way for cattle ranching. The ad states that the tribe will ‘be forced to flee, running for their lives’ and urges supporters to
send a letter to Paraguay’s President Lugo
.
A separate ad is being published in six languages and has already appeared in Red Bulletin and Condé Nast Traveller. It also focuses on the destruction of the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode Indians’ ancestral land, and urges supporters to ‘Help Restore Logic’.
The Ayoreo are the only uncontacted tribe in
South America living outside the Amazon rainforest. In violation of Paraguay’s constitution and international law, private companies such as the Brazilian firm
Yaguarete Porá S.A.
have cleared thousands of hectares of the Ayoreo’s land for cattle ranching, forcing the tribe to flee their homes.
In 2005 a UNESCO biosphere reserve was created in the area. One of its aims was ‘the recovery, legalization and return of the land to these native people’, and in 2007 Survival presented a petition with 57,000 signatures to
Paraguay
’s
government in support of the Ayoreo. Despite this,
satellite pictures have revealed
that the Ayoreo’s land continues to be cleared.
Stephen Corry, Director of Survival International, said ‘I urge President Lugo to fulfill his promise to protect ’s indigenous people. He is the only one who can restore logic by stopping the bulldozing of the Ayoreo’s forest and so save the lives of Paraguay’s most vulnerable citizens.’
Download the first ad
Download the second ad