Drought, desolation and isolation in Alimentos

TEFÉ, SEPTEMBER 2024: Henrique Alcione Batalha, 55, feels the desolation upon entering his floating houseboat; a clean, empty, and silent structure anchored in the stagnant waters of Paranã do Capivara, one of the countless tributaries of the Solimões River.

Living alone on the floating base, Alcione specializes in fishing the iconic Amazonian giant, the pirarucu. This is achieved under an efficient management plan involving monitoring, counting, and capturing the fish during specific periods and quantities, bringing crucial financial benefits to dozens of communities in the mid-Solimões area. However, the pirarucu are now out of reach.

A sequence of extreme droughts, with unprecedented low water levels in 2023 and 2024 in this part of western Amazonia, has isolated the lakes housing these fish. The igarapé (stream) leading to the lakes has turned into a trickle, becoming impassable. The furos, even smaller waterways connecting the igarapé to the ponds, have vanished.

The authorization to capture 650 adult pirarucus has been granted. Still, Alcione and other community fishers find themselves with little to do, anxiously awaiting a temporary resolution to a climate crisis where predictability is lost.

Economic Hardship and Food Insecurity

Families are experiencing income losses, struggling to afford food and water, and facing food insecurity. "The situation has been cruel these past two years [2023 and 2024]," says Alcione. "This year's even worse, the water went down too quickly, and the river keeps receding."

Without water, artisanal manioc flour producers—the dietary staple in the Amazon—are enduring increasingly arduous routines in mid-Solimões. Drought conditions have become so harsh and unprecedented since 2023 that flour production persists solely out of sheer determination.

Without rivers, igarapés, and ponds for soaking manioc to soften the tuber, communities now resort to using makeshift plastic tanks.

Threatening flour production

Rivers and streams that once reached close to flour houses—known as "forno kitchens"—have ceased to exist. Younger people now carry sacks weighing 70 to 80 kg on their heads or backs after roasting in the kitchens, walking between 15 minutes and an hour and a half, depending on the location, to reach a water source.

The once-cascading lakes and rivers used to transport sacks of flour to Tefé (AM) and then to Manaus have dried up. Large boats have been replaced by small canoes, necessitating phased transportation of flour. A one-hour traverse now stretches to six hours in sluggish vessels during drought.

Adaptations to Survive

In Apuí, near Lake Tefé, Adriel Fonseca Cacheado, 27, is involved in every step of production, roasting flour in large pans, bagging it, and transporting a 70 kg sack to the riverbank on his back, repeating the journey eight times in a single afternoon. The following day, he embarks on a small boat to Tefé, where eight sacks are produced weekly, compared to 15 during floods.

"This entire route, during flood season, is by water, from my house to the port."

The impacts of the climate crisis are systemic, affecting both pirarucu management, a symbol of Amazonia and sustainable projects, and manioc flour production, the foundational diet of Amazonian people.

Community-Wide Challenges

Alcione's desolation mirrors that of 1,200 people across 42 communities in the mid-Solimões involved in monitored pirarucu fishing. Their management plan, aided by the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, highlights these communities' struggles with lake isolation and fishing impossibility.

Pirarucu fishing could gross up to R$5,000 per person, with fish sold at R$10 to R$12 per kilogram in markets.

Faced with adversity, Alcione and ten other São Francisco do Capivara fishers attempted a sulamba fish catch earlier this month, netting two tons of fish and earning R$12 per kilogram in markets. Each fisher earned R$350 from the catch.

Despite hard labor similar to Adriel's, thousands of farmers have adapted in the face of worsening droughts, described as worse than those experienced in 2023. Tefé alone has 3,575 farmers cultivating manioc, with Manaus as the primary destination for the mid-Solimões' flour. In the state, 18,400 traditional flour houses engage entire families and centuries-old techniques.

Disruption of Traditional Knowledge

The extreme, successive droughts beyond the Amazon's natural flood and drought cycles have misaligned these techniques. "The changes are radical, disrupting traditional pirarucu management knowledge, particularly regarding deadlines and repiquetes [temporary river floodings during droughts]. There's no more predictability," says anthropologist Edna Alencar, an associated researcher with the Mamirauá Institute.

"This affects the fish's ecology. The Capivara area, for example, was known for its abundant small fish," says biologist Jonas Batista, a technical expert in the institute's fishing management program.

São Francisco do Capivara residents struggle to access lakes for pirarucu and common household fish like tambaqui. Manioc and banana fields support subsistence, with families receiving Bolsa Família. Yet, fishing remains their primary income source.

"We are stuck here," asserts Jocimar Rodrigues, 36, responsible for implementing fishing agreements. "I can't recall worse droughts than in 2023 and 2024."

Many residents from distant communities face hunger. Some families migrate closer to Solimões access points to escape extreme isolation. Lacking potable water access, families embark on longer journeys for subsistence fishing.

Needs and Expectations for Support

Regarding manioc flour, São Francisco do Bauana's quilombola community has halved production, echoing neighboring Apuí's plight. "The worst droughts were 2023 and 2024, when we produced less. Without a soaking spot, production stops," says Adrison Rocha da Silva, 37, vice president of the community.

Maria Ezimar, 53, has lacked well access in São Francisco do Bauana for two years. For the first time, her family uses plastic tanks for intermediate flour production. "Previous years never dried like now. The drought wasn't prolonged," Ezimar notes.

"We've been without a well for almost two years. It's just mud."

Economic Adaptations and Government Response

Many flour producers urgently require cash flow from sales and new distribution methods to cities, often relying on middlemen. Selling flour to intermediaries garners slightly over R$ 4 per kilogram, whereas selling directly at Tefé's markets can double the price.

Apafe (Association of Residents and Agroextractivist Producers of Tefé National Forest and Surroundings) created a collective brand for community-produced flour, featuring packaging highlighting product origin and quality. Here, flour can fetch R$ 14 per kilogram, translating to more community income.

"The production dropped significantly, with increasing plantation loss," says Zila de Castro, 38, a member of Apafe's council.

Droughts impact family agriculture and community fishing management across different Amazon areas with distinct characteristics shaped by rivers, igarapés, and lakes. Reduced or unviable production is a common issue in these regions.

In Jurupari, on the Japurá River, the Indigenous Kokama people have managed to capture only a few pirarucu after long journeys to reach the lakes and transport the fish on their backs along a route where water once existed. They also fish for tambaqui and surubim. The fish are taken to the market in Alvarães (AM).

In the Porto Praia de Baixo Indigenous Land, located on the banks of a branch of the Solimões River, the disappearance of part of the river prevents the fishing of smooth, scaleless fish, one of the main sources of income for over a hundred families of Kokama, Tikuna, and Mayoruna indigenous peoples.

In the Santa Clara community, where the Solimões River has also turned into a desert, farmers have given up on planting watermelons after losses in 2023. This year, vegetable farming was relocated closer to the water, occupying areas that flood during the rainy season.

Fishermen and farmers directly impacted by the climate crisis say that, despite the predictability of the severe drought in 2024, the government has taken no preventive or emergency actions at any level—municipal, state (Amazonas), or federal.

Pirarucu workers are demanding access to basic food baskets and drinking water, an extension of the deadlines for the management plans for pirarucu and tambaqui, and early payment of the defeso insurance provided during the fish reproduction period.

Manioc flour producers want communities to be equipped with motorized vehicles to facilitate the transport of sacks during the drought, as is already the case in some communities, as well as support for getting their production to the cities.

Hopes for Environmental Recovery

As of September 10, the Lula government had supplied 13,000 food packages to those affected by drought via the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, including 850 for Tefé's fishers and extractivists and 80 for Alvarães' fishers. Another 10,000 food packages are slated for the mid-Solimões.

"The ministry received R$ 100 million for distributing 300,000 baskets and acquiring 7,000 tons of food," the government noted.

On his September 10 visit, Lula announced Amazon drought combat measures. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change reports that states and municipalities receive National Civil Defense System funds for water and food purchases. A crisis room has been established for assistance.

Logistical challenges

Governor Wilson Lima’s administration noted "logistical issues" hindered the recent planned delivery of 2,000 food packages to Maraã. The city has five water purifiers with a daily capacity of 1,000 liters of potable water.

Alvarães is set to receive 2,000 food packages, delayed due to similar logistics. Tefé boasts six water purifiers, according to the local government.

"By the 23rd, 140,284 families were affected by the drought. About 1,570 tons of food have been distributed to interior municipalities," the note states.

Municipalities Tefé, Alvarães, and Maraã, linked to the reported communities, did not respond to inquiries.

Where pirarucu management exists, workers face lake inaccessibility due to broken water paths. A solution in Capivara was to make the trek by foot—a three-hour journey carrying giant fish on their backs. The challenge proved too great once ice preservation time was considered.

The hope lies in a repiquete, a temporary water volume increase before the flood. Should the igarapé rise 5 meters, fishers will attempt to reach the pirarucu.