The Earth’s lung seems safe in Lula’s hands, who won elections in Brazil last October.
Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (aka Lula) has already acted upon his promise to reduce Amazon deforestation in his term. According to Reuters, deforestation in the world’s largest rainforest fell by 68% in April compared to last year.
Though it is too early to notice a downward trend in deforestation (the peak is usually around July-September), this early sign is extremely positive.
Lula won Brazilian elections last year, defeating far-right leader and incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro. Lula had been president already between 2003 and 2011, a period that saw a historical reduction of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.
But Bolsonaro violently reversed that trend, destroying the Amazon to record-levels, making space for farms and crop cultivations. In numbers, 2021 (the last full year of Bolsonaro’s presidency) saw 13,038 sq/km of rainforest being deforested, compared to 7000 sq/km in 2010.
The Amazon rainforest is a vital area for the world’s climate. It’s often dubbed as the “Earth’s lung”, with some of the largest biodiversity in the world. It spans across 9 countries, with Brazil having the largest share.
The world has always looked at Brazil’s Amazon deforestation with anguish, as its loss would mean irreversible climate changes across the entire planet.
A “commonwealth of rainforests”
Luckily, Lula seems very careful in his deforestation policies. He announced many times his intentions of reducing it as much as possible, preserving the Amazon and the people inside.
The Amazon rainforest is home to thousands of indigenous tribes and peoples, whose rights were undermined by the Bolsonaro administration. Lula reversed that policy too, recognizing new indigenous lands and resuming the activities of the Environment Ministry and Indigenous agency Funai.
Furthermore, Lula increased its protection efforts for rainforests all across the world. On the planet there are two more extremely important rainforests, though smaller than the Amazon: the Congolese and the South-East Asian rainforests.
The first spans across central Africa, with its largest share in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The second is shared between most South-East Asian nations, from Thailand to Vietnam and especially Indonesia.
During last year’s COP15, the newly elected Lula proposed the creation of a “commonwealth of rainforests” between nations hosting one of such environments. Indeed, these rainforests are especially hard to protect given the often highly unstable political situation.
No specific plans have been drawn out yet, but Brazil could lead the effort for the recognition of these rainforests, increasing awareness in the wealthier parts of the world.
