COVID a "great moment to get rid of regulations" in Brazil
Hi again,
Welcome to Climate Weekly!
Each week we’ll ask one guest writer from our network to give you a short selection of some of the best climate news from their region, giving you a little window into some climate stories you probably didn’t see in your News Feed.
This week, we’re focussed on Brazil, where Ignacio Amigo has been reporting on for the last 7 years.
Olá!
I’m Ignacio and I’m writing to you from Lisbon, Portugal. I recently moved back to Europe after seven wonderful years in Brazil and I’m enjoying some quality time with my family in one of the few countries that has been able to keep the coronavirus in check.
Being here and reading the news about Brazil feels a bit strange. I’ve never seen the country in such a dramatic situation - and I experienced first-hand the 2013 protests, Dilma Rousseff’’s impeachment, Lula’s imprisonment and Bolsonaro’s election.
Over the last months, I wrote about the risks that the coronavirus posed to indigenous populations and to those living in favelas and the peripheries of large cities. It’s been like watching a tsunami forming and coming in our direction. Now it’s too late to react. And while president Bolsonaro tried to avoid publishing COVID deaths, and callings for an end to lockdowns just as, the official death toll has passed the 38,000 people mark - and keeps ramping up. As expected, poor people and indigenous populations are among the hardest hit.
Sounds unsettling, right? Well, not for everyone. For some, the coronavirus outbreak has been an exciting opportunity. You know what they say: troubled waters, fisherman’s gain. For illegal miners and loggers, the last months have been a wild party. If you think deforestation in the Amazon was bad in 2019, wait until you see this year’s figures.
According to preliminary data, between January and March there was a 50% increase in deforestation compared to the same period last year. Because of it, Brazil will be one of the few countries to increase its greenhouse gas emissions this year, amid this terrible pandemic and despite an estimated 5% GDP drop.
As a result, the Environment Minister, Ricardo ‘Foxy’ Salles, already said he doesn’t expect deforestation to decrease this year. This is the same guy who openly said during a cabinet meeting that this was a great moment to get rid of environmental regulations because all the press coverage was going to Covid-19.
During that same meeting, the Human Rights Minister, Damares Alves, said that she would prosecute and imprison governors and mayors that are enforcing lockdown measures. These are the people in charge of South America’s largest country. Exactly.
Unearthed is also reported that Brazil’s National Mining Agency (ANM), similarly plans to take a “regulatory guillotine” to the mining sector. So perhaps those illegal miners won’t have to worry much longer.
And you know what? Fire season is just around the corner. Things could get even worse this year. I hope the global media turns their eyes to the Amazon again like they did last year. Otherwise, Bolsonaro and his crew will get away with it. Brazil deserves better.
From Climate Tracker
Water of the Dead: After our guest newsletter from Nesia Mhaka in Zimbabwe, you can now read the full story of how cemeteries have become a last resort for water-scarce communities in Harare.
Good News with Bees: For a more uplifting end to the week, you can read about how bees are being used to protect mangroves in Kenya or how a micro-hydro innovation has saved a mountain forest in Malawi.
Young Voices of the Americas: If you’re after a quick inspiration, check out these 4 amazing young activists from across Latin America and the Caribbean.
What else we’re reading
This piece on Why Every Environmentalist Should Be Anti-Racist by Leah Thomas
The impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous Leaders in the Amazon in Mongabay
An interesting $67 billion attribution of the impacts of Cyclone Harvey
Photo of the Week
This image of deforestation in Brazil is an incredible gif. Check it out here
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