Small huts lined up at the margin of one of the tributaries of the Amazon to Iquitos about 40 miles near the town of Indiana. The remote Yanomami tribe lives in a forest about the size of France, in northern Brazil and southern Venezuela. The Yanomami lived virtually isolated after they were documented for the first time in the decade of the 20 and even 70's, when a large number of gold miners invaded their territory sought. These miners brought diseases such as measles, tuberculosis, influenza and malaria to the Yanomami who were less resistant to these diseases, which resulted in a significant reduction in the population. An estimated 20,000 Yanomami living in Brazil in the late 70's, while in 1997 there were fewer than 9,000. Violence between armed garimpeiros Yanomami and has resulted in many deaths. The prospectors have interfered in the traditional way of life of the Yanomami, using mercury pollution in local rivers, wildlife and the Yanomami themselves. Mining projects drive away the animals from which the tribe depends on for food. Garimpeiros also introduced weapons to the Yanomami groups, which means that disputes between villages usually end at tiros.Brasil has allocated large areas of forest, about 12.5% of Brazil's total area and 26.4% of the Amazon basin, for the indigenous population, which consists of about 450,000 people (0.25% of total population). These indigenous reserves "established in the Constitution of Brazil in 1988 - helped to increase the indigenous population after centuries have been declining. According to The Economist [February 2, 2006], 60% of Brazil's indigenous population lives in Amazonía.Estas protected areas are not very popular among poor farmers, landowners and builders, who have fought against establishment of parks and indigenous reserves, and those who illegally exploit forest resources, especially mahogany and other valuable hardwood trees within the boundaries of protected areas. However, a study conducted in 2006 by researchers at the Woods Hole Research Center and Institute of Environmental Research of Amazonia, found that parks and indigenous reserves in the Amazon help slow the rate of deforestation. The researchers concluded, by analyzing satellite data, deforestation and fire frequency was significantly lower inside perimeter of reserves and indigenous lands demarcated.