One of the climate emergency’s most pressing issues is the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. The Amazon rainforest is considered the “Lungs of Planet Earth,” and 60% of it is located in Brazil. It is the largest and most biodiverse tropical rainforest in the world. The rainforest has long been beset by problems from deforestation by human settlement, farming, logging, and land development. Today, the problem is even more grave because of the “slash and burn method” used to clear land. Fires are deliberately set, and land is cleared and logged, causing extensive environmental damage. Burning the forest releases carbon in the vegetation and accelerates climate change.
Just a few decades ago, access to the forest was highly restricted. However, recent politics have played a deadly role in the rainforest’s accelerated destruction. Now, more fires are being set because the current political leadership in Brazil not only refuses to stop the fires but actively encourages them by aggressively promoting development and logging.
Brazil is currently under the leadership of a far-right President, Jair Bolsonaro. Footage of massive Amazon fires and smoke was broadcast globally during the summer of 2020. Bolsonaro claimed, “The story that the Amazon is on fire is a lie,” and made a demand for “real numbers.” The environmental group, Greenpeace, released photographic evidence proving that Bolsonaro was lying about the extent of the fires. Bolsonaro then attempted to blame the fires on indigenous peoples rather than developers and loggers.
Since his time in office, deforestation increased by 30% due to illegal logging and developers starting fires in legally protected areas.
The Amazon rainforest is an indispensable resource in the fight against climate emergencies. Environmentalists have come out against Bolsonaro’s loud and consistent advocacy of development and logging in the Amazon rainforest. His authoritarian leadership is now facing pushback from international companies who have threatened to divest from significant holdings in Brazil. In September 2020, a pact called Leticia was formed by 9 nations that share the Amazon rainforest region (Columbia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, and Suriname) to deal with deforestation and promote solutions to preserve the rainforest.
On April 22nd, Earth Day, President Biden will meet with Bolsonaro and 39 other world leaders. Indigenous and environmental groups are urging Biden not to trust Bolsonaro. “Do not let this man negotiate the future of the Amazon!” was the message put out by the Articulation of Indigenous People of Brazil (APIB). Their video has gone viral and global. Up for negotiation is a billion-dollar agreement between the US and Brazil to fight deforestation and the climate emergency. Climate advocates are concerned about Bolsonaro failing to show a good faith effort to stop its anti-environmental agenda. Bolsonaro has proved himself untrustworthy and indigenous communities are now demanding a seat at the negotiations table. APIB and other groups state, “Biden’s election has enshrined the will of Americans to be on the right side of history. Doing it right for Brazilians would be a powerful show of that will.”
