New political leaders in Brazil and Colombia pledge to protect rainforests, raising hopes to prevent ecosystems from turning into savannas
environment
December 28, 2022
The Potaro River flowing through the Amazon rainforest in Guyana Patrick Fort/AFP via Getty Images
After four years of runaway deforestation in the Amazon under Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, the election of Luis Inacio Lula da Silva to take office on January 1 could mark a decisive turning point. I have.
Lula has pledged to reach net zero deforestation. This is the first time for a Brazilian president to do so. In his victory speech on Oct. 31, he said, “A standing tree is worth more than thousands of logs. That is why we are resuming surveillance and illegal activity across the Amazon.”
As well as restoring surveillance and surveillance efforts, Lula has proposed several ambitious projects, including national climate authorities and sustainable agriculture plans. However, it is unclear if he will be able to deliver on these promises as he will not be able to win a majority in the Brazilian Congress. It will also take time to eliminate illicit industries that have become entrenched in the Amazon, such as gold mining.
Despite the challenges ahead, Lula’s victory has left researchers and conservationists optimistic that the Amazon may be saved, despite signs that it is reaching a tipping point that turns it into a savannah. “Lula’s election is a big reason for hope,” says Mark Plotkin, an ethnobotanist and co-founder of the nonprofit Amazon Conservation Team.
The impact of Lula’s environmental policies should be magnified by recent elections of environmentally conscious governments elsewhere in South America, which have campaigned to protect rainforests.
In Colombia, home to one of the Amazon’s most biodiverse regions, President Gustavo Petro has also established himself as regional manager of the rainforest after taking office in August 2022. The Petro calls on high-income countries to help defend South America. He is also overseeing a full rethink of Colombia’s conservation strategy.
The Colombian government, which for decades criminalized farmers who cut down forests for agriculture, is offering financial support to farmers to shift to more sustainable practices, such as harvesting Amazon fruit from trees. I am planning to
The country’s environment minister has also proposed diverting all carbon tax revenues directly into environmental protection programs and building an ‘Amazon block’ with other South American nations.
The election of Petro, Lula and US President Joe Biden after the campaign to protect the Amazon has given political and public support to advance plans to protect and restore the rainforest, researchers say. .
There may also be more opportunities for collaboration with different countries and groups. Martin von Hildebrandt, founder of the nonprofit Gaia Amazonas, says Bolsonaro has thwarted conservation not just in Brazil, but in the wider region. He says it has strengthened the links between NGOs, scientists and indigenous peoples so that their plans can be put into action.
forest regeneration
This year could be the year that decades of damage begin to reverse, says von Hildebrand. Anthropologists are working with researchers and indigenous communities to create reforestation projects that create a wildlife corridor stretching from the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean. “We have been waiting for political will for a long time to make a difference, and I think the time has finally come,” he says.
Carlos Nobre of the University of São Paulo, Brazil, believes that conservationists can use political support and the growing urgency of climate change to boost efforts to plant trees.
At the COP27 Climate Summit in November 2022, Nobre announced a project to restore over 1 million square kilometers of rainforest. This would “save 1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide per year for the next few decades and prevent the Amazon from going extinct. Tipping point”.
The Amazon’s future remains uncertain, but the importance of protecting it against climate change will only become more apparent in 2023, says von Hildebrand.
“Not only is this a carbon sink and a biodiversity paradise, but it also has rivers. [currents of water vapour]it’s a water pump across the Amazon, the Andes and beyond,” he says.
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