How the speech of the Minister of the Environment impacts the Amazon

“The opportunity that we have, that the press is giving us a little relief on other issues, is to pass the reforms of deregulation, simplification. So, for that, we need to make an effort here while we are in this moment of tranquility in terms of press coverage, because it only talks about COVID-19, and go through the cattle and change all the rules and simplify rules ”, Minister of the Environment Ricardo Salles, during a ministerial meeting on April 22. The minister’s statement is worrying because it demonstrates the Federal Government’s intentions in relation to the policies adopted in the Amazon. It also puts the forest even more at risk, which has been suffering from increased deforestation since the coronavirus pandemic arrived in Brazil. According to Minister Salles, the distraction of the press with the pandemic would be a good time to make a “basin” of changes in the rules related to environmental protection and the area of agriculture. According to him, this would avoid criticism and lawsuits. With the sentence, Minister Salles only confirms what everyone already knew. Entities in defense of the Amazon and the indigenous population were already denouncing governmental actions in favor of cattle ranchers, mining companies, hydroelectric plants, and other economic sectors that aim at the rampant exploitation of the Legal Amazon.

What do the entities say?

For Greenpeace Brazil’s Public Policy spokesperson, Luiza Lima, Minister Salles’ speech clarifies what he called a “dismantling project” of the country’s environmental protection conditions. “The minister believes that the pandemic is a good opportunity to advance his anti-environmental project. He believes that the absence of the media spotlight would be enough for him to do what he wants. Bolsonaro won the elections and not a blank check to destroy the forest and the indigenous people ”, stressed the Greenpeace Brasil spokeswoman. The WWF stressed in a statement sent to the press that the speech of the Minister of the Environment, Ricardo Salles, exposes to society that the Federal Government acts in a silent way against national interests. Still, in the statement, the NGO says: “The minister is aware that the proposal is illegal and, therefore, resents the threat that Justice may bring to his intentions”. WWF also cited administrative paralysis in the Ministry of the Environment as responsible for the increase in deforestation in the Amazon in 2019, which was the biggest in the last ten years. The entity believes that the brand will be surpassed during this year. In May, the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) produced a report denouncing the lack of sanctions against environmental crimes in the Brazilian part of the Amazon since October 2019 due to Bolsonaro’s decree. According to HRW, fines and other measures aimed at reducing deforestation practices were suspended. “The Bolsonaro government adopted this practice to weaken the application of environmental laws and the protection of the environment,” said the NGO in its report.

Burning season

The percentage of fire spots had a significant increase in Pampa, Pantanal, and Mata Atlântica. The Amazon is the biome with the largest number of fires, even before the beginning of the driest season in the region. The data are from the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), linked to the Ministry of Science and Technology. Among the reasons for the increase in fires is the lack of rain recorded in these biomes. According to Inpe, the forecast of drought signals a possible worsening of the situation, if the outbreaks are not inspected and controlled. Let’s go to the numbers of the fires:

• Amazon: 5,655 – In the Amazon, from January 1 to June 1 of this year, 5,655 fires were recorded. There was a 35% drop compared to the same period in 2019. In absolute numbers, the forest continues to be the most affected by fires.

• Cerrado: 4,952 – It also showed a drop compared to last year. In 2019, from January 1 to June 1, there were 5,252 fires. In the same period this year, there were 4,952.

• Atlantic Forest: 3,479 – the increase was 44% this year, against 2,395 in the same period in 2019.

• Pantanal: 2,128 – an increase of 186% over the same period in 2019, when there were 742 outbreaks in the biome.

• Pampa: 917 – Increase of 343% in the period in 2020 against 207% in the same months of 2019.

Anti-environmental policy

With the lack of attention from the Federal Government, all biomes are threatened in Brazil. The anti-environmental policy has put the country’s flora and fauna at risk. It is not just the Amazon that is experiencing the problem. The Atlantic Forest has also been the target of land grabbers and loggers. Dispatch published in the Federal Official Gazette in April this year canceled environmental fines for deforestation and fires in preserved areas of the Atlantic Forest. Environmentalists and scholars have classified the act as a kind of amnesty for agricultural producers who illegally occupy the biome. The Atlantic Forest is one of the richest ecosystems in the world and also one of the most threatened. Currently, the forest is only a tenth of its original size. In view of the criticisms and legal actions brought by NGOs such as SOS Mata Atlântica against the order, the Minister of the Environment, Ricardo Salles, decided to revoke the regularization of the invasions. The order was invalidated not because the minister became aware of the importance of preserving forests, but because he is going to file a Direct Constitutionality Action (ADC) with the Federal Supreme Court (STF), to avoid legal questions about his actions.

Environmental crisis

As long as Bolsonaro’s administration continues with actions to destroy the country’s forests, we will all be at risk. Preserving the environment is vital for our survival. It is not just the lives of the Indians, animals, and vegetation that are at stake. Without forests there will be no rain, there will be no rivers and drinking water, food, medicine. Anything. Not to mention the weather. The tendency is for an increase in temperature, making Brazil a great hinterland. Society needs to be aware of the dangers to which it is exposed when adopting public policies for the destruction of our biomes. There is a need to demand more government responsibility if forests and lives are to be preserved.