Almost one year ago
to the day, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff
said something that made a lot of sense:
“Brazil can expand its agricultural production
without cutting.” I agree. One year
later, however, the president appears more
focused on infrastructure projects that
will cause further deforestation, rather
than to stop it.
October 24th was a holiday
in Manaus, the Brazilian Amazon’s largest
city of two million people. But I didn’t
do any sleeping in, or any lazy coffee drinking
over the newspaper.
That’s because Brazilian
President Dilma was in the heart of the
Amazon today, to open
a new bridge. Three and a half kilometers
long over the river, this new bridge opens
up access for deforestation to areas that
were once difficult to access and therefore,
not economically viable. The impact to the
‘other side’ of the river is expected to
be dramatic in coming years.
Greenpeace joined the
party, by flying our 18-meter hot air balloon
above the bridge with banners that called
for the President to ‘Stop the Chainsaws’.
The President is celebrating
this opening of the Amazon at a time when
a debate about changes to the forest code
is raging in the Brazilian Senate. If proposed
changes to the laws governing forest protection
for the Amazon are passed, it would increase
deforestation
dramatically and grant amnesty for illegal
forest activity.
President Dilma has
committed to veto portions of the proposal
that would increase deforestation. However,
she has been largely silent on the Forest
Code of late, taking no visible actions
that would enable her commitment while the
debate moves forward in the senate.
Actions speak louder
than words.
Brazilian Academy of
Sciences (ABC) and the Brazilian Society
for the Advancement of Science both agree
with Dilma - Brazil can grow without more
deforestation. Pastureland for cattle in
the Amazon is currently underutilized: 1.1
cows per hectare of deforested land. The
Brazilian Academy of Sciences and the Brazilian
Society for the Advancement of Science both
advocate agriculture and cattle ranching
integration in the same area through pasture
management based on soil correction, fertilization
and the use of other techniques, which have
already proven to be successful in various
regions of Brazil. There is room to increase
productivity of this land, allowing for
continued growth without more
forest destruction.
Next year, Brazil will
play host to the UN Earth Summit, 20 years
after the seminal UN environmental conference
in Rio de Janeiro. Already corporations,
governments and civil society are calling
on President Dilma to demonstrate global
environmental leadership in the conference
lead up by vetoing the Forest Code changes.
President Dilma has
the power to decide the fate of the Forest
Code and Brazil’s commitments to stop deforestation
and climate change. Only time will tell
if she will do more than open bridges and
start building them between environment
and economy by saving the forest code and
investing in a zero deforestation economy.
One thing is for sure, the world is watching.
