Displaying items by tag: deforestation

In Mexico's drought-stricken Michoacan state, subsistence farmers are taking direct action against commercial farms, particularly avocado orchards, which are depleting water sources. Angry residents have organised teams to remove illegal water pumps and breach unlicensed irrigation ponds, sparking potential conflicts with avocado growers, some of whom have ties to drug cartels. The drought, exacerbated by increased water use for lucrative export crops, has led to disappearing rivers and lakes. The residents are demanding fair access to water resources; they have proposed giving 20% of the water to the orchard owners. The government has been urged to address the root causes of the conflict and prevent further environmental degradation.

From 7 to 9 August, eight Amazonian nations met in Brazil hoping to agree on future strategies to protect the rainforest while sustainably developing the region. President Lula called this summit for the eight South American countries sharing a slice of the Amazon. It is the first time in 45 years that there has been a meeting to ensure a regional response to combat deforestation, crime and climate change. Three days before the event, a pre-summit meeting of civil society representatives agreed on an alliance to combat deforestation, but each country will pursue its own conservation goals when the heads of state discuss and make decisions. President Lula said that previous meetings were just talk, talk, talk, and nothing happened, and this meeting is the first great opportunity for people to show the world what they want to do. Experts and conservationists have hailed the event as a turning point for the future of the Amazon rainforest. See also

Ailish Campbell, Canada's ambassador to the EU,said its proposed rules to curb deforestation add ‘burdensome’ requirements and will hurt trade between Canada and the EU. The rules aim to limit the trade of products linked to deforestation worldwide. Climate campaigners have called Canada's resistance to the rules shocking. In a letter to the EU, Ms Campbell says Canada supports the objectives of the proposed deforestation regulation, but is greatly concerned that some elements will cause trade barriers for Canadian exporters. She asks for several revisions to the regulation, including providing a delay and a clearer definition for what falls under forest ‘degradation’ - a practice that climate advocates say is widely seen in Canada. In March, over 90 scientists penned an open letter to prime minister Trudeau outlining concerns about the rate of industrial logging in old-growth forests, which they said had ‘unique and irreplaceable ecological values’.

Txai Suruí is a climate activist who is part of an indigenous community in the Amazon rainforest. She spoke to world leaders at COP26 about the direct impacts of climate change that her tribe is already experiencing. But after the speech she was publicly criticised by President Bolsanaro for ‘attacking Brazil’. This prompted many people to send her abuse on social media. When she spoke to a BBC reporter, she said, ‘I think I said the right words because they attacked me.’ Brazil hosts the two most important and diverse tropical forests globally. Almost 20% of the Amazon forest has been cut down in recent decades. This deforestation must stop before it becomes a savanna. Between 2004 and 2012, Brazil successfully controlled deforestation by 80%, by reducing illegal foresting, creating protected areas and restricting soya and cattle expansion. This resulted in increased food production by large farming complexes and strengthened smallholder farming. See

Those fighting to halt climate change call the Amazon rainforest the ‘lungs of Earth,’ and Brazil's current president has made his country a chain-smoker. A healthy Amazon is crucial for the fight against climate change. Human activity is pumping unsustainable amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, trapping enough heat to warm the planet and profoundly disrupt the climate. Trees, and the soils they grow in, store carbon that might otherwise reach the atmosphere, but cutting down or burning them releases more carbon into the air, making Amazon deforestation a problem for the entire planet. President Jair Bolsonaro has made matters much worse for the remaining 60% of Amazon tree cover. He deprived environmental protection agencies of funding and manpower, allowing farmers to cut and burn trees to open land for farms and cattle ranches. But now Joe Biden’s climate envoy is engaged in an international effort to raise $20 billion for Brazil's environmental protection agency, only to be given if deforestation is reduced.