By: Gerelyn Terzo of Sharemoney
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has become infamous for his handling of the natural resource-rich Amazon rainforest during his presidency. In an ironic twist, he once said that he faced three potential future scenarios — arrest, assassination, or another presidential term in 2022. It appears one of those scenarios might not be too far from the mark. President Bolsonaro is facing accusations of crimes against humanity for his handling of the world’s coveted Amazon rainforest where 24 million Brazilians call home.
The president is the target of a campaign that was designed by a group of environmental activists. They blame him and his cohorts for staging an attack against the Amazon and its inhabitants, one they claim is costing thousands of lives and threatens to turn the rainforest into a desert. With the help of a criminal attorney, the activists, who are part of an Austria-based non-profit organization called AllRise, submitted a formal complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, a city in the Netherlands.
In the nearly 300-page filing, AllRise blames the Bolsonaro administration for a “widespread attack on the Amazon, its dependents and its defenders.” The document states,
“The AllRise movement defends the possibility of ICC acting in the case since crimes against humanity that are provided for in the Rome Statute are identified.”
According to the group, President Bolsonaro’s policies surrounding “deforestation, land grabbing, and illegal mining” are responsible for “facilitating and accelerating” the destruction of the rainforest. AllRise Founder Johannes Wesemann is cited by media reports as saying in a statement,
“Jair Bolsonaro is fueling the mass destruction of the Amazon with his eyes wide open and in full knowledge of the consequences.”
These alleged crimes, AllRise contends, have occurred at the hands of “corrupt actors” in the name of profits. The group declares that the actions of the Bolsonaro administration have led to “persecution, murder and inhumane suffering in the region, but also upon the global population.” They are urging the ICC to launch a probe into the Brazilian government and calling for prosecution. They have the support of Brazil’s Climate Observatory, which has been a vocal critic of the president’s environmental policies.
The Climate Observatory, which is a network of dozens of local civil society organizations, has come out swinging against President Bolsonaro, having accused him of lying during a September 2021 speech to the United Nations General Assembly. They say that the president’s claim that “he cares about the environment and the climate” is false, asserting that on the contrary, he and the administration have shown a lack of “commitment to climate issues.”
Meanwhile, President Bolsonaro has vowed to end illegal deforestation in the Amazon rainforest by 2030. The timing of the attack against him couldn’t come at a worse time for the president, who is under fire for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and is also poised to participate in the UN’s Climate Change Conference between Oct. 31-Nov. 12, 2021 among Brazil’s peers.
Brazil’s Rainforest
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has suffered a 40% increase under Bolsonaro’s tenure, critics claim. Trees are being cut down in favor of construction and agriculture to bolster the economy in a best-case scenario and for illegal mines in a worst-case scenario. Meanwhile, wildfire activity has soared threefold over a 12-month period.
As a result, carbon dioxide emissions have risen to a level that surpasses what the Amazon can naturally take. At-risk are the population and wildlife in the Amazon and beyond, as the chances for extreme weather events around the world increase. Environmentalists are saying enough is enough and argue that “crimes against nature are crimes against humanity.” They want President Bolsonaro to pay.
Deforestation by the Numbers
According to the Climate Observatory, an NGO, the Amazon’s deforestation rate has risen sharply since President Bolsonaro’s term began in early 2019. They cite Inpe data, saying the deforestation of the Amazon was happening at an average rate of 6,719 km2 five years before President Bolsonaro took office. During his first two years as president, the deforestation rate rose nearly 60% to 10,490 km2. Put another way, during Bolsonaro’s administration, the area of the Amazon that has been lost to illegal deforestation exceeds the size of New York City by more than 10 times.
The Climate Observatory is awaiting the 2021 deforestation data, which they expect will be more of the same, at around 10,000 km2. Incidentally, the deforestation rate was headed lower at year-end 2020 and in early 2021 before it took a turn for the worse.
Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourão, who spearheads the government’s Amazon strategy, conceded the worsening of deforestation in the spring. He has acknowledged a need to slash illegal deforestation activity by 15-20% in the near term if the country has any chance of the government’s long-term goal to completely eradicate illegal deforestation by the end of the current decade. One example is the illegal logging of pricey wood, which ramps up during the dry season.
The vice president recently stated,
“Today we have a range of 10,000 km² to 11,000 km² of deforestation each year.”
Mourão further explained that a mere 10% of that deforestation is happening legally, resulting in the lion’s share of the activity taking place in an illegal way. To reach their ambitious goal, the Brazilian government will have to manage to maintain its 15-20% reduction rate in deforestation until 2030.
The Climate Observatory is not convinced and maintains that by the time Bolsonaro’s term is over, the Amazon will be in worse condition than it was before his administration. The situation has been exacerbated by what they say has been a 42% reduction in fines against illegal logging amid alleged lax regulation, which they say has led to the rise of criminal activity.
Path Forward
In total, some 35 million people make the Amazon their home across eight different countries. For its part,Brazil is home to about 60% of the Amazon rainforest across more than 1.3 million square miles, down from 1.6 million square miles nearly 50 years ago.
Despite all the rainforest has to offer, poverty runs rampant in the Amazon, with incomes in the Brazilian section hovering 40% beneath the country’s average. The Amazon population is also plagued with high instances of joblessness and declining health. In fact, some of Brazil’s most extreme poverty is situated in the Amazon rainforest. Brian Winter, editor in chief of the Americas Quarterly,suggests that the creation of green jobs in the region would go hand in hand with incentivizing the “locals to protect the forest rather than tear it down.”
An Americas Quarterly report recently described a fresh approach that could turn things around in the region. It involves Brazil starting to treat the Amazon rainforest like an “economic asset” instead of shooting themselves in the foot. By accessing the latest technology, Brazil and its neighbors can be transformed into “green superpowers” that profit from all the rainforest has to offer, the report suggests.
For example, by exporting items such as “sustainably cultivated cocoa, açai, and fish,” not to mention “promising new inputs for cosmetics and pharmaceuticals,” millions of “green jobs” could be added to the economy.
In the meantime, the clock is ticking to ensure the Amazon rainforest does not dry out and become a desert. With the precarious situation, the path forward is likely to be prickly for both President Bolsonaro and the Amazon for the foreseeable future.
