Now Kopenawa has become the first Indigenous leader elected to the century-old Brazilian Academy of Sciences. We would like to congratulate the academy, which had the courage to elect a member of the original peoples of Brazil, Paloschi, who is president of the Brazilian bishops Indigenous Missionary Council, told EarthBeat. It s good that the academy has recognized the ancestral wisdom of indigenous peoples, especially at this time, when humanity is experiencing a socio-environmental crisis that is unprecedented in history, the planet is sick, and Indigenous peoples are the teachers who teach us to have a harmonious and respectful relationship with all of creation, he said.
The Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) recently announced a list of research projects selected in a call for proposals to receive R$50 million in funding for COVID-19 research. Of this amount, R$30 million will be drawn from the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT) for research into treatments, vaccines, diagnostic tests, and the pathogenesis or biological mechanism of the disease. The other R$20 million will be contributed by the Brazilian Ministry of Health for use in projects around prevention, containment and healthcare (
see article). The overwhelming response to the call for projects shows that the scientific community in Brazil is eager to advance research about the disease, more than the government can afford. A total of 2,219 project proposals were submitted. If all were approved, these projects would involve R$1.7 billion in funding, 34 times more than available. An evaluation committee recommended a