Who Can Still Save The World's Green Lung - DW - 09 - 12 - 2021

28/11/2022 15:43 Who can still save the world's green lung?
– DW – 09/12/2021
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CIÊNCIA | BRASIL
Quem ainda pode salvar o pulmão verde do mundo?

Jan D. Walter
12/09/2021
O governo brasileiro promoveu o desmatamento na floresta amazônica a níveis nunca vistos há mais de
uma década. Ambientalistas dizem que é necessária pressão externa, principalmente da China.
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Pelo segundo ano consecutivo, mais de 10.000 quilômetros quadrados (3.860 milhas quadradas) da floresta
amazônica brasileira foram erradicados. A taxa de destruição dobrou desde 2014 e subiu para um nível visto pela
última vez em 2008.
Ambientalistas e cientistas do clima estão preocupados com o desenvolvimento, assim como ativistas de direitos
humanos e defensores de um Estado de direito.
Povos indígenas sabem como proteger a floresta tropical

The acceleration of deforestation has less to do with the laws in Brazil than with the current government. The
private initiative MapBiomas found that 99% of the deforestation in 2019 was illegal, with it either being
conducted without the necessary licenses or in protected areas.
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Indigenous territories are also being adversely affected by illegal logging more and more. Though logging is not
prohibited in principle, it is supposed to take place only with the consent of local populations. However, this rarely
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happens, says German journalist Thomas Fischermann, who has written several books about the Amazon and its
indigenous peoples.
https://www.dw.com/en/brazil-who-can-still-save-the-worlds-green-lung/a-59153451 1/9
28/11/2022 15:43 Who can still save the world's green lung? – DW – 09/12/2021
Indigenous peoples are the best defenders of biodiversity in the Amazon Image: Ricardo Oliveira/AFP/Getty Images
"Every now and then you will find a leader who sells a piece of forest to be able to afford a refrigerator,"
Fischermann says. "But generally, there is nobody more interested in preserving the rainforest than indigenous
peoples living in protected areas," he said adding that they maintained their traditional way of life by using
resources sustainably.
Government supports illegal deforestation

So far, the Brazilian government has preferred to give its support to those committing crimes in the Amazon.
Since Congress and the Senate have blocked legislation that would legalize deforestation, partly because of
doubts regarding the long-term economic viability of overexploiting the rainforest, the government has resorted
to other means.
It has deprived the Brazilian Ministry of Environment and the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and
Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) of funds, staff and responsibilities. "Previously, IBAMA was allowed to
destroy confiscated machines in the middle of the forest so as to render them harmless. But [Brazilian President
Jair] Bolsonaro banned that," said forest engineer Paulo Barreto of the nonprofit Institute of Man and
Environment of the Amazon (Imazon).
He added that the president had also virtually invited cattle ranchers to illegally appropriate land: "They've started
thinking to themselves that 'Bolsonaro will sort it out.'"
And that's exactly how it is: In December, the president signed a decree making illegally appropriated land the
official property of occupiers and, in February, the government even launched an app to simplify the process.
Public land that should be submitted for tender and auctioned for use is being sold by the government at well
below the market price, explained Barreto.
Brazil's appetite for beef eats into rainforest
Global demand for Brazilian soy

But it is not only the Brazilian government that is driving deforestation. There is a global demand for soy from
Brazil. In China, it is already an important part of the diet and the same is becoming increasingly true in the US
and Europe, where so far it has been used mainly as animal feed.
Barreto explained that though the rainforest was largely cleared to create pasture for cattle grazing, grain farming
was indirectly one of the main drivers of deforestation: "Since soybean cultivation is more productive, the
extensive livestock farming is moving into other pastures, which are primarily being wrested from the rainforest,"
he said.
Combatting illegal Amazon deforestation
Disastrous droughts
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At first, the destruction of 10,000 square kilometers of forest might not sound like that much considering that
Brazil's Amazon region comprises some 5 million square kilometers. But since large-scale deforestation began in
1970, some 20% of the rainforest has been destroyed. The situation is similar in Brazil's neighboring states, where
the rainforest extends for another 2.5 million square kilometers.
The Amazon is the most biodiverse area on earth. It is a huge CO2 reservoir and thus considered the green lung of
the earth. But Fischermann says there is another major aspect: "Green lung is actually not a correct term. The
most important function of the Amazon forest in terms of climate is that it's a huge water reservoir."
Devastating forest fires have become more frequent in recent years Image: Getty Images/J. Laet
In many places, after just a few years of grazing or farming, nothing grows anymore because the thin layer of
humus has worn away. In other places, biotopes have emerged that have little in common with the original
rainforest.
The new vegetation that has emerged cannot absorb the huge amounts of water that flow in the catchment area
of the largest river on earth, evaporate and fall as rain again. Brazilian climate scientist Carlos Nobre believes that
a critical point is coming when the Amazon will no longer be able to supply itself with enough water.
2021 is the sixth year in the last two decades in which Brazil has suffered drought. with an impact on all sectors of
the economy and private households, in the form of more expensive electricity. Brazil derives about three-
quarters of its electricity from hydropower. It was the energy minister, Bento Albuquerque, who in May warned of
"the worst water crisis for 91 years."
This cannot be good for any government. But a populist such as Bolsonaro, who depends on short-term successes
to win an election, will be driven into a corner by such a development. Moreover, because he hardly has any
financial leeway to provide subsidies if prices rise, given the amount of pandemic-related aid already allocated. On
the other hand, he can little afford to alienate his supporters in the agriculture and mining sectors, either.
External pressure needed
Though Brazil itself would have its own reasons to protect the Amazon, it is outside pressure that is crucial, say
experts. Some members of the country's business sector are aware of this and becoming worried that their goods
will suffer from the country's poor image.
In the past year, representatives from the country's three biggest private banks — Bradesco, Itau and Santander
— met with Vice President Hamilton Mourao, who is also the head of the country's new Amazon Council, to
discuss how to save the rainforest.
The global demand for soy has driven deforestation Image: Leo Correa/AP/picture alliance
The huge Brazilian meatpacking companies JBS and Marfrig have also announced that they will stop processing
meat from newly deforested areas from 2025 and will require proof of origin from their suppliers, including
subcontractors. That is something, says Barreto of Imazon, but this move comes very late.
"Even though around 80% of the meat is consumed in Brazil, the most effective pressure right now is from
abroad," he said, explaining that the biggest buyers were supermarket chains in Brazil controlled by the French
multinationals Carrefour and Casino Guichard-Perrachon and the US giant Advent International.
Fischermann, who partly lives in Brazil, thinks that the EU is a sideshow and that it is China and the US, which are
Brazil's largest trading partners, that have to exert an influence if there is to be real change. He believes that they
should tie their purchasing power to certain rules, and he is convinced that China is heading in the right direction.
"I believe it when they say they don't want to ruin the climate. By forcing Brazil to protect the climate more at its
own expense, China would have a relatively cheap way of influencing the climate."
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Correção: Este artigo foi alterado em 14 de setembro de 2021, para esclarecer que a terra não foi vendida "por baixo da
mesa" como alegado na versão original deste artigo, mas que a terra desapropriada ilegalmente foi posteriormente
considerada propriedade legal pelo governo de Bolsonaro.
O artigo também foi corrigido para remover uma referência incorreta, observando que a indústria madeireira era o
principal fator de desmatamento. As pastagens de gado são a principal força motriz, respondendo por cerca de 90% do
desmatamento.
A versão original deste artigo foi alterada para refletir que os frigoríficos ainda comprarão carne da região amazônica,
mas não de áreas recém-desmatadas.
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28/11/2022 15:43 Who can still save the world's green lung?

EM FOCO Copa do Mundo FIFA Guerra na Ucrânia Crise de energia TV ao vivo

Quem ainda pode salvar o pulmão verde do mundo?

Povos indígenas sabem como proteger a floresta tropical

EM FOCO Copa do Mundo FIFA Guerra na Ucrânia Crise de energia TV ao vivo

Government supports illegal deforestation

EM FOCO Copa do Mundo FIFA Guerra na Ucrânia Crise de energia TV ao vivo

Brazil's appetite for beef eats into rainforest

Global demand for Brazilian soy

NEWS SPECIAL INTEREST TV LEARNING GERMAN

German News Service

Envie-nos seu feedback

eleição do brasil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

DW'S TOP STORY

EM FOCO Copa do Mundo FIFA Guerra na Ucrânia Crise de energia TV ao vivo

Despite UN sanctions, Germany did research with

POLITICS | 11/27/2022

MORE STORIES FROM DW

Africa's population boom may boost economy, global relevance

More from Africa

More from Asia More from Germany

EUROPE MIDDLE EAST

Kherson residents describe torture Iran launches smear campaign against

More from Europe More from Middle East

NORTH AMERICA AMÉRICA LATINA

Enfrentando a mudança climática, os Patrulhas de rua no México combatem

Mais da América do Norte Mais da América Latina

Vá para a página inicial

Quem nós somos Aprende alemão

Fórum Global de Mídia DW

boletins informativos Distribuição de vendas Mais informações OK

Perguntas frequentes Publicidade

Contato E M F O C O Copa do Mundo FIFA Guerra na Ucrânia Crise de energia TV ao vivo

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