Problems and Issues:

Originally inhabited by the Tupi Indians, Brazil's northeastern coast has been practically inaccessible by land for over four centuries. This isolation has enabled the rural fishing communities there to live independently from the large urban centers. The fishermen, left to their own devices, have created a unique culture, preserving an important collection of primitive fishing vessels and equipment that can be found nowhere else in the world. Located on some of the most spectacular, undisturbed coastline in the world, these waters of sea, bays, and estuaries have fed families of fishermen for countless generations.



CLICK TO READ CAPTION
In 1988, Endangered made its first trip to the region, there in tiny fishing hamlets, Project Director, Paul Lima, saw the descendants of slaves brought from Africa in the 1500's. Here exists the purest form of Umbanda (white magic) and Quimbanda (black magic). To the north in communites of Amerindian and European descent, Mr. Lima saw villagers with blond hair and blue eyes, a legacy of 17th century Dutch and French rule. Although, Endangered saw evidence of change, even then, it could not have imagined or predicted the speed with which it has escalated.


Aided by a strong Brazilian economy, economists predict tourism will soon surpass agriculture as the leading industry in the Northeast. Already its growth rate is 160% faster than the world average. Believing that employment from tourism can help lift the region out of poverty, the Inter-American Development Bank is the leading lender in an 800 million dollar project to finance tourism and development. Why the Northeast Coast? "The Caribbean is saturated," says Cello Sterenburg, tourism secretary for Pernambucco state, "The next big tourism development is going to be Brazil's Northeast."1



CLICK TO READ CAPTION
Endangered asked Conservation International, a DC based environmental watchdog group, to asses the damage tourism development has had on the region's ancient fishing communities. "I am very concerned," said Paulo Prado, It's Brazilian coordinator, "Twenty years ago thousands of these artisan fishing settlements dotted the 4,000 kilometes of coastline, today only a hand full remain." Some are home to jangadeiros, fishermen who sail the ancient raft called a jangada.


The historical legacy of the jangada dates back to the ancient Greeks and Romans (it was Ulysses vessel in "The Odyssey"). The Brazilian Indians called the jangada, CUTINGA, meaning white tongue, and used it for fishing well before the arrival of Portuguese navigator Cabral2. Jangadeiros (raft fishermen) help maintain the last remnants of small scale fishing in the Northeast. Their daring and courage so inspired Orsen Welles in his short film Four Men On a Raft3.


The reality of today's small scale fishing is one of despair. Unless change is implemented soon, it is probable that by the end of the decade, the only jangadas sailing the shallow waters of the Northeast will be those carrying tourists.


It would be easy to criticize the government for developing this fragile coastline. On the other hand, the benefits loom large when billions are pumped into a region in dire need of economic assistance. Will the fishermen profit? A partial answer lies in a recent sociological study which echoed a conversation Mr. Lima had with an old Northeast fishermen, Fredrico Alves 4. He told the story of the effects of large scale fishing on his village.



CLICK TO READ CAPTION
When a nearby coastal highway was built, a once isolated fishing community became a draw for capital fishing industrialists and a magnet for landowners, tourists, and politicians. Together, they increased the demand for sea products enormously. The study points out that rural fishermen, like Mr. Alves, with their crude vessels and equipment are unable to meet that demand. So with little economic alternative they abandon their traditional fishing vessels and go to work for wealthy boat owners who squelch their fear of lost autonomy with promises of economic improvement and upward mobility. In reality, the fishermen, poor and uneducated, have little chance to succeed. Once proud and independent, many now feel bitter and exploited.


While the power of photography has helped the Brazilian rain forest receive the attention it deserves, places like Brazil's northeastern coast are often ignored. Lewis W. Hine, a pioneer in social documentary wrote-


I wanted to show the things that had to be corrected, I wanted to show the things that had to be appreciated.


In that spirit, Mr. Lima is determined to bring to the public's attention the disappearing culture of the Northeast fishermen and their threatened environment, which contains a variety of ecosystems.



CLICK TO READ CAPTION
Its mangrove swamps, beaches, and reefs, according to a recent United Nations report, are threatened by developement, overfishing, and indiscriminate dumping of major pollutants5. Its Atlantic rain forest, according to the World Wildlife Fund, is one of the two most endangered tropical ecosystems in the world, the other is in Madagascar. Only 2% of its original 1.5 million acres survives today. Some Brazilian sources, such as Fundação SOS Mata Atlântica, believe that unless help arrives soon, even that will disappear along with more than 300 species of wildlife.



CLICK TO READ CAPTION
One might wonder, where is the outcry from within Brazil? Unfortunately, Brazil's environmental movement lags twenty years behind those in Europe, Japan, and the United States. Even the few national parks and reserves that do exist, while improving, are still severly under funded and ineffective. Armed with the knowledge of a world's shrinking supply of undeveloped land, its hard not to get involved when you stop to consider that by the end of the decade, photographs like those enclosed here will not be possible.

Portuguese