Brazil Makes Hollow, Lazy Pledge to End Deforestation by 2015
Brazil’s government seems to be doing anything they can to take on the challenge of deforestation and global warming in their country. What is not clear is whether or not these efforts are being made wholeheartedly, or simply as an obligatory exercise.
Brazil possesses a large portion of the world-important Amazon Rainforest, and therefore their attention to the issues of deforestation and global warming is crucial. Earlier this year they opened a $23 million international fund to assist with conservation programs in the Amazon– but said that no strings would be attached. So far Norway is the only country to have donated money to the fund. They say they will donate more, but only if progress is achieved.
Now Brazil’s government has made an even gutsier move– they say they will end deforestation in their country by 2015. The only problem: they don’t have any new plans for how to do it– only old ones that don’t really address the issue of protecting Amazon ecosystems.
The proposal is part of Brazil’s new draft plan to combat climate change. It will soon go out for public review before being finalized. According to the BBC, the plan contains no specific goals for reducing emissions other than generalizations about methods. The primary means of ending deforestation by 2015 is to plant tree farms– an old idea. The plan also suggests that use of alternative energy and biofuels like ethanol will help reduce carbon emissions (something already happening in Brazil).
While planting trees to replace those that are cut down is no doubt a positive step in the fight against global warming, it does little to protect ecosystems. Forests and many of the species they contain within need time to develop. Monocultures of trees will not be able to provide the diversity and hundreds of years some species need for life. When we consider the Amazon’s importance to world water supplies and climate patterns as well, then it becomes clear that planting trees alone will not solve the problem of deforestation.
The Amazon has been a hot-spot for environmental news this year, and conflicting reports have emerged as to trends of deforestation in Brazil. Most likely it depends on how you interpret or manipulate the statistics. The Brazilian government has declared that deforestation is decreasing, while other sources indicate the opposite. Regardless of whether or not Brazil’s desire to end deforestation (or net deforestation if such distinctions are important) is being made wholeheartedly or with lazy obligation, it’s going to be tremendously challenging for Brazil to do so in seven years time.
Read More South American Environmental News on the Green Options Network:
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Photo Credit: laslzlo-photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons license
Why should they stop. Mickey D’s is growing soy on massive farms
to feed their chickens for their sandwiches. Ever wonder why the chicken you grill lately is oozing with white fat and tastes so juicy? All the fat loads in this country are eating chicken from deforested Amazon rain forest. You used to grill chicken and it would come out dry as a bone, now its juicy as all heck.I wonder what the greasy puppet dictator of Brazil gets in blood money from Mickey Dees
Yeah youre right the chicken is juicy lately, what’s going on.
And Mickey d’s is pushin a heck of lot more chicken lately.
Too bad people dont care if it is from the devastation of the rain forest. If there is a devil he sure is working ot on this plan. Use greed and greasy dictators to wipe out our beautiful planet
I’m sure there isn’t much interest considering there is so much money to be made and a lot of that land is completely inaccessible to anything but loggers and slash and burners.