On August 19, 2019, the hashtag #PrayForAmazonia reached the top trends of Brazilian Twitter. As wildfires rapidly spread across the Amazon Rainforest, thousands of social media users turned their attention toward the international crisis. Overnight, the eyes of the entire world pointed toward the region burning down in flames.
As home to the largest portion of the forest, Brazil was particularly affected by the fires. Between January and October of 2019, over 89,000 fires were registered in the Brazilian part of the Amazon. As a result of these fires, an estimated 970,000 hectares of forest were lost in the process. The fires in the Amazon region in 2019 were unprecedented in their destruction and sustained impact on the environmental balance of both Brazil and its surrounding countries.
In response to the crisis, many world leaders and non-governmental organizations criticized the lack of Brazil’s public policies to preserve the Amazon Rainforest. On August 22, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared that he was “deeply concerned” with the wildfires and that the world could not “afford more damage to a major source of oxygen and biodiversity.” Two days later, attention to the wildfires increased during the G7 summit in France. There, French President Macron led negotiations to authorize a $22 million emergency fund for Amazonian countries damaged by the fires.
The Brazilian government, however, condemned the incentive. President Jair Bolsonaro promptly rejected the aid and promised to combat the fires by engaging military troops and firefighting aircraft. The Brazilian President also argued that Macron’s initiative disguised his true intentions of “saving’ the Amazon as if it is a colony or no-man’s land.” However, after pressure from Brazilian state governors, the federal government authorized the foreign aid — under the terms that the Presidential Cabinet would decide how to use the funds.
With the situation seemingly handled by public forces, the public eye slowly turned away from the Amazon. After some months, the environmental crisis in Brazil was no longer in the headlines. Though there is little coverage of the issue now, the environmental damage still continues today.
In June 2020, numbers from the Brazilian Socioenvironmental Institute revealed that the deforestation rate of the Amazon Rainforest in 2020 was the highest it had been in over a decade. Moreover, in the last two years, over 48.3% of the Amazon Region Protected Areas were damaged due to human activity. The environmental crisis of the Amazon Rainforest is currently at its worst point, and shows no signs of ending anytime soon.
The record levels of deforestation and fires in the region negatively impact the entire world. The Amazon’s destruction will damage economies, global biodiversity, and the climate in Brazil and many nations beyond it. Furthermore, thousands of lives that depend on the forest will be affected — especially those of indigenous populations.
The Amazon is known as the “lungs of the world” because it is a key player in the environmental balance of the entire planet. As the world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon plays a crucial role in controlling local and regional climates. Every day, vast amounts of water are released into the atmosphere through evapotranspiration, influencing world climate and the circulation of ocean currents. Due to deforestation and fires, this intimate relationship between the Amazon and the atmospheric phenomena is being put at risk.
When the Amazon is deforested or burnt, greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change. Additionally, as the effects of climate change begin to be felt, local populations that rely on rainfall for agricultural production are also affected. Amazon deforestation has led to a notable reduction of rain on a local scale, which harms both big and small farmers, as well as other communities that may live in the region.
The Amazon is also notable for its biodiversity. As an ecosystem, the forest is home to more than 3 million species and therefore hosts about 25% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. When burning through the rainforest for the first time, a fire kills most small trees and seedlings, as well as larger trees. Furthermore, forest fires also destroy the natural habitat of many animals. Due to the increasing occurrences of wildfires and destruction of forested areas, the fauna and the flora of the rainforest are being decimated.
An aggravating factor in this situation is that many of the lost species are still unknown. They may be the cure for future diseases or provide important environmental services that society is unaware of, and yet, they are burnt to the ground every day.
Amazon: A Synonym for Exploitation
Concerns about the preservation of the Amazon Rainforest are arguably recent in comparison to the decades of deforestation that the region has undergone during the last centuries. Since the first European colonizers settled in the Americas, the forest has been subject to increasing levels of exploitation.
More than 500 years after the mining activities started in the region, explorers continue to extract natural resources from the Amazonian soil. Today, they no longer ride horses or use their pickaxes to find diamonds. Instead, they drive tractors and tear down thousands of square kilometers of forest to spread their plantation fields. Just as the equipment was upgraded, so were the environmental damages.
In the last 50 years, the Amazon Rainforest has seen the greatest period of mass deforestation in its history. Since 1970, over 18% of the forest has been deforested. Likewise, the 2021 predictions do not seem favorable for the situation: according to satellite data, the Brazilian Amazon had 810 square kilometers of its territory destroyed in March 2021. This amount of deforested areas represents an increase of more than 250% in comparison to the deforested areas in February 2021.
In an interview with the HPR, Greenpeace Amazon specialist Cristiane Mazzetti declared that “in the last two years, we witnessed an unprecedented growth in the deforestation rates, and we reached the biggest percentages since 2008.” Mazetti also stated that the number of wildfires during the annual drought period is the highest it’s been in decades. “2019 was the year when the entire world stopped to look at the Amazon’s fires, but 2020 was way worse in that matter,” she added.
When analyzing the growing environmental damage in the Amazon, it is important to understand what the main causes are behind such issues. Although most research reports do not mention which factors prompted the deforestation rates, it is a well-known fact that most of the deforested areas are destroyed through illegal activities. It is estimated that more than 99% of the deforestation registered in Brazil in 2019 was associated with the execution of illicit acts — either because there was no legal authorization or because preservation areas were deforested.
Of the illegal deforestation, “grilagem” activity represents one-third of the many illegal endeavors propelling the destruction of the forest. In Portuguese, this term describes the practice of forging documents to take over public and indigenous lands. The people who participate in “grilagem” activity are known as “grileiros.” After acquiring false titles to these regions, “grileiros” proceed to occupy and burn down forested areas to use the land for agriculture, livestock production, and mining. Approximately 50 million acres of the Brazilian Amazon belong to the government, and 23% of this territory is occupied by “grileiros.”
With the relationship between illegal land occupation and deforestation made clear, it is important to notice how those practices continue to happen every day; but why? Mazzetti blames legislative power. “Many legislative propositions are opening the Amazon to more damage,” she stated, “and the “grileiros” are advancing in hope to gain their land right through these new laws.”
Technically, occupying public lands without proper authorization is a federal crime in Brazil. However, possible changes regarding the constitutionality of the “grilagem” practice have been discussed in the Brazilian Parliament. In August, a bill that proposes the regularization of illegally-occupied lands was moved over to be discussed and voted at the Senate. If approved, the law will recognize the “grileiros” as rightful owners of the lands they have illegally seized.
For those who are in favor of the bill, its implementation would solve the lack of regulation of Brazilian public territories. From their point of view, recognizing the “grileiros”’ legitimacy over the lands would prompt agri-business development, one of the country’s most important economic activities. The bill’s defenders claim to be supporting small farmers, stimulating the development of Brazilian agribusiness and “fighting” the illegal deforestation of the Amazon.
On the other hand, many institutions, politicians, and environmental activists have expressed their opposition to the bill. According to the opposition, the bill promotes the Amazon’s deforestation by legalizing the practice of “grilagem.” That is exactly what Samela Sateré Mawé, an indigenous activist of Fridays for Future Brazil and spokesperson of the Brazilian Articulation of Indigenous Peoples, defends. In an interview with the HPR, Samela declared that “[the bill] facilitates the illegal settlement of people in public and indigenous lands, letting them start fires, deforest our lands and claim them as theirs.”
While each side debates over a solution to the “grilagem” issue, environmentalists continue to worry about the future of the Amazon. In Samela’s words, “[the “grileiros”] occupy the land and deforest it—either to raise cattle, to plant soy, or to simply sell it. Those people commit ambiental crimes. They deforest [the Amazon], start fires, practice illegal mining, hunt, and do not pay for any of that.”
Furthermore, the negative impacts of deforestation also extend to the economy. Contrary to popular belief, the dichotomy between development and environmental preservation does not exist. That is precisely what Brazil’s former Minister of the Environment Izabella Teixeira declared in an interview with the HPR. When asked about the idea of deforestation to expand the agribusiness industry, Teixeira stated that “this is a naive argument. Brazil has over 100 million acres that are proper to the expansion of agriculture. […] Deforesting the Amazon means compromising the future of Brazilian agriculture.”
Recent research supports the argument that deforestation negatively impacts the development of agri-business. In October 2021, a study conducted in the Brazilian Amazon revealed that the increase of deforested areas made the region’s climate warmer, exposing over 12 million Brazilians to extreme heat. Additionally, the heat prompted a 5% to 10% drop in corn yields from plantations across the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil’s largest grains producer. Deforestation is an obstacle to agriculture rather than an ally.
“Grilagem” will have devastating consequences for the preservation of the Amazon Rainforest. While politicians debate over the approval of the bill, “grileiros” continue to illegally occupy preserved lands. As they burn down forested areas to establish large pastures and exploit natural resources, deforestation rates keep increasing each year. Consequently, the world witnesses the worsening effects of climate change, the disappearance of rare species, and the destruction of indigenous lands. In Mazetti’s own words, “we are reaching the Amazon’s point of no return.”
Is There Still Hope?
As the wildfires progress and the forested areas of the Amazon diminish, concerns about the future of the world’s largest rainforest continue to emerge. Confirming the magnitude of deforestation, the former Brazilian Minister of the Environment Izabella Teixeira, who has been following the process of occupation and land use of the Amazon in the last 35 years, declared that “we already lost about 18% to 19% of the forest, and most of this loss is related to illegal economic activities.”
When asked about the possible solutions for today’s critical circumstances, Teixeira responded that “Brazil needs to recognize Amazon’s role in the country’s development.” According to Teixeira, “Brazil was very successful at fighting environmental crime until the last couple of years. […] In order to overcome this situation, an entire reorganization of environmental policies is required.” Finally, she added that “it is necessary to understand how the Amazon and the environment are allies in the Brazilian economic development.”
In indigenous activist Samela’s opinion, the Brazilian population also has a crucial role in promoting the Amazon’s preservation. In her words, “people must vote for candidates who support indigenous peoples and the preservation of the environment. They [the politicians] should encourage the demarcation of indigenous lands, and the protection of environmental agencies and environmental laws.” After all, “we [the indigenous peoples] have always fought for our rights, especially the right to preserve our land. […] We depend on nature, as it depends on us.”
To Teixeira, “[Brazil] is no longer a solitary nation to the world. We are a society that brings deforestation, vulnerability, and risks. We are adding a share to the world’s climate crisis.” In her vision, Brazil must use sustainable technology to manage its land and promote environmental preservation as well as agri-business development. “It is fairly possible to have a rainforest, and to be the country that protects the most and produces the most—but in order for this to work, it is necessary to get rid of old and anachronistic policies.”
Image Credit: “Operação Verde Brasil” by Vinícius Mendonça/Ibama is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
