DECEMBER 12, 2022

In my September blog, The Last of His Tribe, I mentioned that the indigenous man who recently died lived in one of Brazil’s reserves set aside for native tribes. I said that the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, who was running for re-election had campaigned on a pledge to do away with all the reserved areas set aside for indigenous people.  He claimed the tribes have too much control over the reserves and there are farmers eager to replace the forest with crops.

Since then, his opponent Lula da Silva has been sworn in as President after upsetting Bolsonaro in the election and has promised to save the remaining Amazon jungle from development. Lula da Silva will take office on January 1, 2023.

I was aware that the nation of Brazil covers a large amount of land.  Until I looked, I was not aware that at over three million square miles it is the largest country in the Southern Hemisphere, larger than Australia which covers just under three million square miles.  

About 4,500 square miles of forest cover was destroyed in the Brazilian Amazon from August 2021 to July 2022. This is less than in the prior year by eleven per cent.  But the last two years are number one and two in deforestation in the country.  That mean an area of forest about the size of the State of New Hampshire is no more.   Marco Astrini the head of the Climate Observatory, an environmental advocacy group said, “The devastation remains out of control.  Jair Bolsonaro will hand his successor a filthy legacy of surging deforestation and an Amazon in flames.”

The conflict between those who want to develop vacant land and those who want to preserve it is an ongoing one.  The conflict results in various outcomes.  The problem is that once natural land is developed, it is a long-term result.  Hardly ever is developed land allowed to revert to its natural condition.  Thus, the decision to turn land into farms or other uses must be considered a permanent one.  Gone is the habitat for wildlife and natural plants and trees.

The fact that a new President has been elected may slow down deforestation, but it won’t stop it. There is pressure by farmers and loggers to destroy more of the forest.  Farmers and loggers have had an easy time obtaining permits to destroy the forest for several years under Bolsonaro.  Turning around the bureaucracy which has been issuing the permits may take some time.  In addition, the areas involved are remote, and deforestation can continue because of inaction by the government, or because it is not noticed in time.

The issue is not limited to Brazil.  Other countries in the Amazon Basin are facing the same issues relating to deforestation.  Da Silva has promised to form an inter-governmental organization of the countries surrounding the Amazon to deal with the issue.

Deforestation will only speed up the demise of indigenous people in the region which has been increasing over the last one hundred years. Many natives have given up tribal life to move to urban areas.  In the next few years,  we may see the end of the last native tribes in the Amazon.