Deforestation: A thing of the past?
Written by Maria Garcia
The word deforestation conjures up images of apocalyptic cities scattered across deserted landscapes. These images have become common in the very popular post-pandemic world of TV and cinema, but in the real world, we seem to be reversing the trend.
As Greta Thunberg says, "The climate crisis has already been solved. We already have all the facts and solutions. All we have to do is to wake up and change." And we seem to be waking up.
In 2023, forest clearing in the Amazon was 51% less than the year before despite the severe drought. However, deforestation in the "cerrado," a tropical savanna located to the south and east of the Amazon, has continued to escalate.
This data is released as Brazil positions itself as a leader in climate change mitigation efforts at the COP28 climate summit. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced a $250 billion proposal aimed at protecting the world’s tropical forests.
While this information can make us feel cautiously optimistic, we cannot let our guard down, as scientists say the Amazon may be nearing a tipping point which could disrupt regional and global rainfall patterns, trigger the release of billions of tons of carbon, and lead to the extinction of countless species.
But let’s not be pessimistic. Let’s talk about those $250 billion we mentioned before. This project, called the “Tropical Forests Forever” fund, sourced from governments and the private sector, would disburse money to tropical countries that achieve set thresholds for limiting deforestation. Conversely, these countries would see their funds decrease if deforestation levels went up.
Flowering tree in the Amazon rainforest canopy. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler
This sounds promising, as does the zero deforestation plan, but President Lula has not answered the most important question: how will this plan be addressed? It is true that the role of the Ministry of Environment has real effects as shown by the recent deforestation decline, but these effects would be even more noticeable if this Ministry was supported by the rest of the government.
Among those ideas that would be counterproductive is the building of roads. Obvious, isn’t it? However, something that might seem negative, but that is positive when looked at more closely, is that Lula has never promised to plant more trees. And why is this a good thing? Simple: planting a hectare of trees is much more expensive than avoiding a hectare of clearing in the Amazon forest.
BR-230, also known as the Trans-Amazonian Highway; the BR-163 Cuiába-Santarém road; and the BR-319 Manaus-Porto Velho road, shown here, are official roads that cut across the Amazon and have spawned a network of illegal offshoots. Image courtesy of the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (DNIT).
So far, we have only mentioned the decrease in deforestation in Brazil, but the same thing has happened in Colombia. What is behind this change in Colombia? Mainly two things: a change in government policies and the rise of a sort of environmental criminal governance. The EMC, one of the ex-factions of the FARC, began protecting the forest in their area. In fact, they doubled down on their logging ban, maintaining it throughout 2023. Underlying this protective order is the group’s interest in using it as a point in their favor during peace negotiations with the government. But as long as it works, why question their motives?
In Brazil, the change of president was also vital. One of the first things Lula did was to give Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) its power back. And, like in Colombia, stopping illegal activities has become of vital importance.
The flattening in the curve of deforestation in Brazil and Colombia is indeed a start. Now we have to spread this trend to the neighboring countries and make sure they take part. Not an easy task due to greed and political instability, but still doable. So let’s focus on the positive.
