in an interview six weeks ago paulo gua ja jara said it was dangerous work.: i'm scared sometimes but we have to lift up our heads and act. we are here fighting. he said it was important to act now to preserve a future for his children. translation: we are protecting our land and the life on it, the animals, the birds, even the other tribes who are here, too. there is so tribes who are here, too. there is so much destruction of nature happening, good trees, with wood as ha rd happening, good trees, with wood as hard as steel being cut down and taken hard as steel being cut down and ta ken away. hard as steel being cut down and taken away. the brazilian just this minute described the killing is a grave crime and promised it would be investigated. —— justice minister. indigenous groups blame his government for the rising number of attacks. the president has cut funding for environmental agencies and indigenous rights groups since taking office injanuary. activists say that tribes have no alternative but to try to protect themselves. deepin but to try to protect

paulo gua ja jara had recently told journalists that he was scared about the situation in his reserveillegal loggers and miners were operating. indigenous groups have accused brazil's far right government of failing to protect them. bill hayton reports. this is the kind of direct action paulo guajajara was involved in — catching illegal loggers red—handed. in this incident, filmed in september, a group from his tribe intercepted a truck loaded with tree trunks and the tools of this illegal trade. with the nearest police station hundreds of kilometres away, members of the guajajara tribe feel this is the only way to protect their land from destruction. the guardians of the forest, as they call themselves, say their home made weapons have cut illegal logging by half over the past decade. in an interview six weeks ago paulo guajajara said it was dangerous work. translation: i'm scared sometimes, but we have to lift up our heads and act. we are here fighting. but he said it was important to act now to preserve a future for his children. translation: we are protecting our land and the life