junho, 15 2026

By Jamille Nunes, WWF-Brazil 

From May 18 to 22, eighteen partner organizations joined forces to deliver a comprehensive social services and healthcare initiative for the Munduruku Indigenous people in the Upper Tapajós region of Pará, Brazil. 

The initiative resulted from broad coordination among government agencies, civil society organizations, and Indigenous organizations. Approximately 1,000 people from 58 villages received some form of assistance. 

Services included the issuance and correction of official documents—such as birth certificates, the National Identity Card, SUS health cards, and work permits—as well as civil registry services, information on access to social programs and public benefits, medical and ophthalmological consultations, eyeglass distribution, and other essential services. 
 

The Importance of Collaboration 

The initiative was designed to strengthen the ongoing post-eviction process in the Munduruku Indigenous Territory. 

"In addition to environmental damage, illegal mining leaves behind a legacy of mercury contamination, pressure on traditional ways of life, health problems, and the weakening of community structures," explains Ariene Cerqueira, Conservation Specialist at WWF-Brazil and lead for the organization's Mining Impact Reduction program. 

"In areas where illegal occupants have been removed, the challenge does not end with the eviction itself. It is essential to support the rebuilding of the conditions that allow communities to live with dignity, safety, and future prospects within their territories," she adds. 

Clarissa Tavares, who leads WWF-Brazil's Indigenous Peoples and Traditional Communities Rights strategy, notes that "initiatives like this connect two dimensions that are often treated separately but are, in practice, inseparable: conserving territories and guaranteeing the rights of the peoples who live in them and have historically protected them." 

Ediene Kixiri Munduruku, coordinator of the Wakoborũn Association, explains that the initiative responds to the difficulties Indigenous communities face in accessing public services in urban areas due to distance and travel costs. 

"People who are here have traveled from other villages in search of these services," she says. Ediene emphasizes that the initiative emerged from dialogue between Munduruku leaders in the region and WWF-Brazil. "WWF coordinated the engagement with multiple government agencies," she adds. 

Léo Ferreira, who leads WWF-Brazil's strategy in the Tapajós Basin, explains that the initiative required months of preparation, with active participation from the Munduruku associations involved. 

"We received this request from the organizations that make up the Ipereg Ayu Munduruku Resistance Movement in September 2025. It took months of planning, and this initiative was only possible thanks to everyone's commitment," says Ferreira. 
 

Illegal Mining's Impact on Indigenous Health 

The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) presented preliminary findings from studies measuring mercury concentrations among Munduruku communities in the region. The mercury levels identified were significantly higher than internationally recognized safety thresholds. 

As of May 2026, researchers had conducted 941 mercury tests among Munduruku populations living along the Tapajós River, including 476 pregnant women and 339 infants. 

Among pregnant women, the average mercury concentration in hair samples was 8.7 µg/g, while newborns presented an average concentration of 4.4 µg/g. For comparison, internationally accepted health protection reference values range from 1 to 2 µg/g. 

These alarming findings reinforce the urgent need for actions to reduce mercury exposure associated with illegal mining in the Amazon and to strengthen public health surveillance for affected Indigenous communities. 
 

WWF-Brazil's Role 

This is the second time WWF-Brazil has coordinated an initiative of this scale in partnership with the Munduruku people; the first took place in 2022. 

WWF-Brazil played a key role in facilitating dialogue and strengthening interinstitutional coordination among municipal, state, and federal government agencies, as well as civil society organizations. The initiative brought together the organization's Mining Impact Reduction and Indigenous Peoples' Rights teams. 

The initiative resulted from ongoing dialogue with Brazil's Federal Public Defender's Office (DPU), through the Observatory on Illegal Mining and Its Socio-Environmental Impacts (OGES), with the objective of facilitating the Munduruku people's access to social rights while supporting the post-eviction process in their territory. 

WWF-Brazil's participation was instrumental in mobilizing Indigenous communities and enhancing collaboration among public institutions at all levels of government, alongside civil society organizations. 
 

A Collective Effort 

The initiative was carried out by WWF-Brazil in partnership with Brazil's Federal Public Defender's Office (DPU), the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai), the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI), the Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health (SESAI – Ministry of Health), the Public Prosecutor's Office of the State of Pará (MPPA), the Court of Justice of the State of Pará (TJPA), the Pará State Civil Police, the Municipality of Jacareacanga, and the Jacareacanga Civil Registry Office. 

Additional partners included Projeto Saúde e Alegria (PSA), the São Benedito da Amazônia Custody, and the Indigenous organizations Wakoborũn Association, Poy Collective Association, Da'Uk Audiovisual Collective, the Munduruku Indigenous Educators Association of the Upper Tapajós (Arikico), and the Ipereg Ayu Movement. 
 

Key Figures 

4 days of service delivery, benefiting approximately 1,000 people in the Munduruku Indigenous Territory. 

58 villages participated. 

18 partner organizations collaborated. 

356 people received assistance from the Civil Police for the issuance of National Identity Cards. 

276 ophthalmological consultations, with approximately 1,000 eye exams and procedures performed. 

180 services provided by the Public Prosecutor's Office. 

91 consultations conducted by the Federal Public Defender's Office, covering 102 legal procedures. 

22 judicial rulings issued during the initiative, with cases opened and concluded on-site. 

12 civil registrations completed, in addition to two duplicate birth certificates issued for minors and delivered directly to their parents or legal guardians.