The rate at which the Amazon rainforest is being destroyed has fallen sharply thanks to a different political climate and committed conservationists. It is a tiny spark of optimism in the world of conservation and for those fighting to end deforestation. Deforestation is a terrible aspect of human behaviour which not only serves to perpetuate the growing climate change crisis but also irrevocably damage nature and the habitat of thousands or millions of species.
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Deforestation is one of the great anti-conservation problems in the world as it destroys habitat and habitat loss is the biggest threat to species worldwide.
Okay, that’s the background, and the news in The Times is that a study by the World Resources Institute think tank tells us that deforestation fell by 36% in Brazil and 49% in Colombia. In Brazil, “39% less tree cover was lost in total last year than in 2022” according to The Times report.
We are taking care of the virgin jungle; it is a lung for the planet. We want to conserve [it] for our community.
Aberlardo Ayutap Orrego, a conservationist with the charity Cool Earth and a member of Peru’s Awajun people.
The optimism comes from two leaders in South America; firstly da Silva who has replaced Bolsonaro the former president of Brazil who supported deforestation because it supported businesses. He let deforestation rise to levels not seen since the early 2000s.
Da Silva has said: “There is no climate security for the world without a protected Amazon.”
In addition, Gustavo Petro became the new president of Columbia and he campaigned on a promise to stop burning the Amazon rainforest. He wants to rainforest to recover “to give humanity the possibility of life on this planet.”
Some enlightened views by some very important leaders in a part of the world where the rainforest is so dominant and so important for the rest of the world.
Both these leaders’ pledges appear to be coming to fruition at least for now. It tells us that the loss of the rainforests is not inevitable.
The chief executive of the Rainforest Trust, James Deutsch, said: “What is immediately obvious is that the number one determinant of whether countries are doing better or worse on deforestation is political will.”
Da Silva has reinvigorated many of the environmental policies he had instigated during his first two terms from 2003 to 2010. These policies had been dismantled by Bolsonaro.
In Colombia, Gustavo Petro took over from Ivan Duque who was not in fact like Bolsonaro because he was trying to curb deforestation but he achieved limited success. He had used the military to target illegal farming settlements. In contrast, Gustavo Petro has taken a more conciliatory approach in paying communities to leave forests alone.
He is working with the communities rather than enforcing through force government policies. It’s a preferable method. You need the cooperation of local communities to make the sorts of policies work ultimately.
On the negative side of this story, outside of Brazil and Colombia, in Bolivia, home to nearly a tenth of the Amazon, deforestation rose by 27% which is a record for a third year in a row.
Obviously, the world has a long way to go before we stop slashing and burning our precious forests and killing millions of animals as a result.
