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Past Event

Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Climate Ambition and Development in the Brazilian Amazon

On April 22, forty leaders from around the world met in a virtual summit at the invitation of U.S. President Joe Biden to discuss the state of global climate policy and the path to net zero carbon emissions. Brazil is a key actor in climate negotiations due to its sovereignty over 60 percent of the Amazon Rainforest and its agricultural and energy heft, but the country鈥檚 commitments to this effort are in doubt. In the last two years, deforestation has increased substantially in the Amazon. Yet at the same time, the threat of economic action by the United States and Europe, combined with growing awareness of the urgency and scale of the challenge, has mobilized a higher level of climate policy ambition within Brazilian society, as diverse stakeholders in the private sector and civil society drive action. As climate negotiations move forward, the voices of Amazon residents and subnational governments will be critical to any plan involving the region.

Watch the event video or read through the selected quotes below to learn more about will take to reduce deforestation and promote carbon-neutral, equitable development pathways in the Amazon鈥攆or the benefit of local populations, the Brazilian economy, and the country鈥檚 international standing.

This event was organized as part of our partnership with Uma Concerta莽茫o Pela Amaz么nia.

Speaker Quotes

Tatiana Schor

鈥淏efore we start building public policies on sustainable development, we have to build a narrative, and this narrative has to have principles. [...] We know not everyone's going to be the same way, talk in the same language or is going to have the same objectives. But, it is very important that we can build a perspective where everybody agrees and it's very important that we are able to attract to this discussion different actors because the Amazon is complex.鈥 (Transl: 鈥淎ntes de come莽armos a construir pol铆ticas p煤blicas de desenvolvimento sustent谩vel, temos que construir uma narrativa, e essa narrativa tem que ter princ铆pios. [...] a gente sabe que nem todo mundo vai ser do mesmo jeito, falar na mesma l铆ngua ou ter os mesmos objetivos. Mas, 茅 muito importante que possamos construir uma perspectiva em que todos concordem e 茅 muito importante que sejamos capazes de atrair para esta discuss茫o diferentes atores porque a Amaz么nia 茅 complexa".)

鈥淲hen we're thinking about the forest and the Amazon, we do believe the Amazon is important for humanity [...] in many areas: health, climate change, social, security populations, traditional populations. And any policy we build, [...] we cannot leave anyone behind [...] We should not think about sustainable development where we leave significant parts of the population behind.鈥 (Transl: 鈥淨uando pensamos na floresta e na Amaz么nia, acreditamos que a Amaz么nia 茅 importante para a humanidade [...] em muitas 谩reas: sa煤de, mudan莽as clim谩ticas, popula莽茫o, seguran莽a social, popula莽玫es tradicionais. E qualquer pol铆tica que constru铆mos, [...] n茫o podemos deixar ningu茅m para tr谩s [...] N茫o devemos pensar no desenvolvimento sustent谩vel onde deixamos uma parte significativa da popula莽茫o para tr谩s.鈥)

鈥淎ny drawing of a public policy, we must take into account the diminishing of social and territorial inequality. Some of these do not look directly related to the environment, but they are very much [related]鈥攜ou can get data on, for example, pregnancies in young girls. That isn't directly linked to climate change, but it is linked to social questions and it is very important, and so we do need to think about that.鈥 (Transl: 鈥淨ualquer planejamento de uma pol铆tica p煤blica, devemos levar em conta a diminui莽茫o das desigualdades sociais e territoriais. Alguns deles n茫o parecem diretamente relacionados ao meio ambiente, mas s茫o muito [relacionados] - voc锚 pode obter dados sobre, por exemplo, gravidez em meninas. Isso n茫o est谩 diretamente ligado 脿s mudan莽as clim谩ticas, mas est谩 ligado 脿s quest玫es sociais e 茅 muito importante, ent茫o precisamos pensar sobre isso.")

鈥淎ny economic development and sustainable development must have as its principle, conservation of biodiversity. I think if we have that as a cutting point, it will help us define what is correct and what is not correct in terms of understanding economic development.鈥 (Trans: 鈥淨ualquer desenvolvimento econ么mico e desenvolvimento sustent谩vel deve ter como princ铆pio a conserva莽茫o da biodiversidade. Acho que se tivermos isso como um ponto de corte, vai nos ajudar a definir o que 茅 correto e o que n茫o 茅 correto em termos de compreens茫o do desenvolvimento econ么mico.鈥)

鈥淗ow can we think about the synergies between this commodity bioeconomy and the forest world? Sometimes they happen in the same territory, but they don鈥檛 talk, they are not articulated [...]. So, if we are thinking about a green economic recovery or green new deal, we have to understand the different historical temporalities that coexist in the forest, and we have to think about how can we optimize these different temporalities without being destructive, and without being disruptive.鈥 (Transl: 鈥淐omo podemos pensar nas sinergias entre essa bioeconomia de commodities e o mundo florestal? 脌s vezes acontecem no mesmo territ贸rio, mas n茫o conversam, n茫o se articulam [...]. Ent茫o, se estamos pensando em uma recupera莽茫o econ么mica verde ou um new deal verde, temos que entender as diferentes temporalidades hist贸ricas que coexistem na floresta, e temos que pensar sobre como podemos otimizar essas diferentes temporalidades sem ser destrutivas, e sem ser perturbador. 鈥)

鈥淚f we really want to impact and stop deforestation, we have to invest in science and technology, here [in the Amazon] with the people from here, and that also means making bridges, helping them out with interesting programs. The U.S. has the Fulbright program, which is really interesting; we could think about an Amazonian Fulbright program, or we could get all these important, local researchers in the local universities and [...] make networks with people. That has a much bigger impact than we can imagine because it is in the universities that we get the young people.鈥 (Transl: 鈥淪e queremos mesmo impactar e deter o desmatamento, temos que investir em ci锚ncia e tecnologia, aqui [na Amaz么nia] com o povo daqui, e isso tamb茅m significa fazer pontes, ajud谩-los com programas interessantes. Os EUA t锚m o programa Fulbright, que 茅 muito interessante; poder铆amos pensar em um programa Fulbright da Amaz么nia, ou poder铆amos colocar todos esses pesquisadores locais importantes nas universidades [...] locais e fazer redes com as pessoas. Isso tem um impacto muito maior do que podemos imaginar, porque 茅 nas universidades que recebemos os jovens.鈥)

鈥淚n the universities, we get a lot of Indigenous students and local students, and that has been the best way we can trickle-down new technologies鈥攚hen they go back to their communities, to their villages, and they start working with their parents and their associations [鈥. I have a very good example of a person who works with me. She is the first person in her family to [go to] the university, she is a forest engineer, and her mother was traditional agriculture in the Amazon, very traditional鈥攃ut and slash, lots of insecticides and herbicides, etc. And she managed to convince her mother and all the community around her mother to be organic. So, they are the most important group, one of the most important groups of organic [farmers] in Manaus, and it was her, the daughter鈥攏ot me, not a specialist. [鈥 This is where change happens, so we really have to look into where we are going to put our cards.鈥 (Transl: 鈥淣as universidades, recebemos muitos estudantes ind铆genas e estudantes locais, e essa tem sido a melhor maneira de introduzirmos novas tecnologias - quando eles voltam para suas comunidades, para suas aldeias e come莽am a trabalhar com seus pais e suas associa莽玫es [...]. Tenho um exemplo muito bom de uma pessoa que trabalha comigo. Ela 茅 a primeira pessoa da fam铆lia a ir para a universidade, 茅 engenheira florestal e a m茫e dela era uma agricultura tradicional na Amaz么nia, muito tradicional - corte e slash, muitos inseticidas e herbicidas etc. E ela consegiuo convencer sua m茫e e toda a comunidade ao redor dela a serem org芒nicos. Ent茫o, eles s茫o o grupo mais importante, um dos grupos mais importantes de [agricultores] org芒nicos de Manaus, e foi ela, a filha, n茫o eu, n茫o uma especialista. [...] 脡 aqui que a mudan莽a acontece, ent茫o realmente temos que olhar para onde vamos colocar nossas fichas.鈥)

 

Mauro O鈥 de Almeida

鈥淎 gente n茫o consegue fazer um mercado interno [na Amaz么nia com atividade econ么mica mais sustent谩vel]. Hoje, voc锚 compra, por exemplo, um chocolate da Amaz么nia bem caro nos grandes centros鈥攅 at茅 nos Estados Unidos, em Paris ou em Londres 鈥 mas voc锚 n茫o encontra esse chocolate, que hoje 茅 muito caro,  em um mercado ou no supermercado de Bel茅m ou de Manaus. Voc锚 vai encontrar Nutella, voc锚 vai encontrar os Cheetos, voc锚 vai encontrar a Pringles, mas voc锚 n茫o vai encontrar [...] comida saud谩vel, que 茅 a comida da Amaz么nia.鈥 (Transl: 鈥淲e have not managed to create a domestic market [in the Amazon based on sustainable economic activity]. Today, you can buy, for example, a very expensive chocolate from the Amazon in the big cities [of Brazil]鈥攁nd even in the United States, in Paris or in London鈥攂ut you cannot find this chocolate, which today is very expensive, in a market or in a supermarket in Bel茅m or in Manaus. You will find Nutella, you will find Cheetos, you will find Pringles, but you will not find [...] healthy food, which is food from the Amazon.鈥)

鈥淐ombater o desmatamento n茫o 茅 s贸 quest茫o de recurso, como tem sido dito por a铆 [...]. Tem que ser uma estrat茅gia de desenvolvimento regional, de desenvolvimento para a popula莽茫o, sobretudo sair da ilegalidade.鈥 (Transl: 鈥淔ighting deforestation is not just a matter of economic resources, as it has been claimed [...]. It has to be a strategy for regional development, for the development of the population, especially in terms of overcoming illegality.鈥)

鈥淥u a gente atribui justi莽a social, [...] distribui verdadeiramente renda e riqueza, ou a gente n茫o vai conseguir virar a chave do desmatamento. N贸s sabemos como fazer isso, n贸s sabemos como diminuir o desmatamento; a gente sabe que o comando, a fiscaliza莽茫o e a repress茫o s茫o eficientes, mas n茫o se mant锚m no tempo. [...] A gente precisa de muito recurso para manter uma fiscaliza莽茫o, a gente precisa de bases capitalizadas nos munic铆pios, e a gente n茫o consegue manter isso por muito tempo. N贸s precisamos virar a chave econ么mica com inova莽茫o na bioeconomia, criando mercados, estabelecendo log铆stica para escoamento da atividade.鈥 (Transl: 鈥淓ither we promote social justice, [...] truly distribute income and wealth, or we are not going to be able to curb deforestation. We know how to do this, we know how to reduce deforestation; we know that command [and control], monitoring, and enforcement are efficient, but they are not sustainable over time. [...] We need a lot of resources to maintain an enforcement system, we need capitalized bases in the municipalities, and we cannot support this for a long term. We need to change the economy with innovation in the bio-economy, creating markets, establishing logistics for the flow of the activity.鈥)

鈥漀贸s temos um problema de comunica莽茫o. [...] De uma maneira geral, a popula莽茫o das cidades que mais desmatam no Par谩 entende que alternativa de emprego para eles 茅 a pecu谩ria, a minera莽茫o e o desmatamentoa derrubada da florestapor isso falei que era uma quest茫o cultural tamb茅m. N贸s precisamos fazer com que eles n茫o s贸 entendam isso, mas tamb茅m sentir isso. Ent茫o, eu falo que a gente tem que fazer justi莽a social. A gente n茫o resolve o problema do desmatamento apenas com repress茫o. [鈥 A quest茫o 茅 como eu fa莽o essa virada de chave. Alguns governos v茫o dizer que a alternativa continua sendo a pecu谩ria, continua sendo a agricultura, continua sendo o desmatamento, continua sendo o garimpo, continua sendo a minera莽茫o. Outros dizem que n贸s precisamos fazer uma pecu谩ria intensiva mais eficiente, uma agricultura com servi莽os agroflorestais, um manejo florestal cada vez mais abrangente. Ent茫o, a forma com que voc锚 vai transformando isso 茅 que vai determinar se n贸s vamos ser um pa铆s em desenvolvimento sustent谩vel ou um pa铆s em desenvolvimento destrut铆vel.鈥 (Transl: 鈥淲e have a communication problem. [...] In general, the population of the cities that deforest the most in Par谩 understands that the only employment opportunities for them are cattle ranching, mining and deforestation鈥攖he destruction of the forest鈥攖hat is why I said that it is also a cultural issue. We need to make them not only understand this, but also feel this. So, I say that we have to promote social justice. We can't solve the deforestation problem only with enforcement. [...] The question is how do you change it. Some governments will say that the alternative continues to be cattle ranching, continues to be agriculture, continues to be deforestation, continues to be mining. Others say that we need to make intensive ranching more efficient, promote agriculture with agro-forestry services, and a more comprehensive forest management. So, the way in which you transform this is going to determine whether we are going to be a country that develops sustainably or a country that develops destructively.鈥)

鈥淥s estados da Amaz么nia legal se uniram num cons贸rcio para criar um fundo pr贸prio que j谩 tem condi莽玫es de receber recursos de doa莽茫o e de investimentos, chamado FUNBIO (Fundo Brasileiro para a Biodiversidade) 鈥 que 茅 o 贸rg茫o ou entidade executora deste fundo 鈥 e t锚m estruturado pol铆ticas para que recepcione aqueles que querem ajudar. Portanto, os estados subnacionais n茫o se sentem pressionados. Muito pelo contr谩rio, eles est茫o abertos a recepcionar qualquer ajuda que seja. 鈥 (Transl: 鈥淭he states of the Legal Amazon have joined together in a consortium to create their own fund to receive donations and investment resources, called FUNBIO (Brazilian Biodiversity Fund)鈥攚hich is the body or entity that executes this fund鈥攁nd they have structured policies to welcome those who want to help. So, subnational states do not feel pressured. On the contrary, they are open to any kind of help.鈥)

Speakers

Image - Tatiana Schor
Tatiana Schor
Executive Secretary of Science, Technology and Innovation, State of Amazonas
Image - Mauro O' de Almeida
Mauro O' de Almeida
State Secretary of Environment and Sustainability, State of聽Par谩

Moderator

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Brazil Institute

The Brazil Institute鈥攖he only country-specific policy institution focused on Brazil in Washington鈥攁ims to deepen understanding of Brazil鈥檚 complex landscape and strengthen relations between Brazilian and US institutions across all sectors.   Read more

Brazil Institute

Environmental Change and Security Program

The Environmental Change and Security Program (ECSP) explores the connections between environmental change, health, and population dynamics and their links to conflict, human insecurity, and foreign policy.   Read more

Environmental Change and Security Program