Out with the old and in with the new: What Brazil's new president means for forests and environmenta
BLOG | JAN. 23, 2023
Out with the old and in with the new: What Brazil’s new president means for forests and environmental defenders
Newly elected president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has sent a clear message about his commitment to increase environmental protections, fight deforestation and protect those who defend the environment. We at Global Witness welcome the raft of measures he has announced to help undo the destructive policies of his predecessor and prevent further climate wrecking activities.
With the Amazon forest and other wooded lands in Brazil shrinking at alarming rates, diminishing our chances of keeping global warming in check, his success or otherwise has implications at local, national and global levels. However, the task will not be easy. With recent violent, anti-democratic backlash from Bolsonaro supporters and likely reluctance from congress to pass these progressive policies, only time will tell whether Lula’s pro-environment agenda will fully come to fruition.
The data shows that Lula has a good track record when it comes to reducing deforestation with an 70% drop in deforestation by 2012 under his presidency. His intention to bring back the ‘Action Plan on Deforestation’ with Marina Silva back at the helm of the Ministry for the Environment is particularly positive, as these factors were key to his previous success. It’s also encouraging that Marina Silva intends to include in the Plan not only the Amazon Forest but also the Cerrado, the Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, Pampa and Pantanal which contribute significantly to global efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees and encourage biodiversity conservation. We hope the Plan will draw on the ideas of civil society, a tactic that was key to previous success in reducing deforestation.
Lula’s previous presidency saw Marina Silva create the Amazon Fund in 2008 to tackle deforestation. Overturning Bolsonaro’s attempts to freeze the fund, Lula’s decree to reactivate the fund is a definitive step in the right direction and we hope to see it used to finance public bodies tasked at reducing deforestation. We urge that appropriate mechanisms are set to up to ensure that this and other sources of international funding are spent in a way that recognises the need for the inclusion of Indigenous peoples and local communities in decision making processes.
More:
https://www.globalwitness.org/en/blog/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-what-does-the-inauguration-of-president-lula-da-silva-mean-for-brazils-forests-and-the-communities-protecting-them/
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