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Guarani spiritual leader Estela Vera is murdered in Mato Grosso do Sul

Indigenous land is under constant threats from farmers

Credit: Reproduction

15 Dec 22

Guarani spiritual leader Estela Vera is murdered in Mato Grosso do Sul

The nhandesy, Guarani-Kaiowá spiritual leader and healer, Estela Vera, was murdered in the Ivy Katu Land, a traditional territory retaken between 2003 and 2015 by the indigenous, in the municipality of Japorã, in Mato Grosso do Sul, on November 15. According to the kuñangue Aty Guasu, Assembly of Kaiowá and Guarani Women, the assassins shot Vera and children with large caliber firearms. The entity denounces that ranchers and tenants have been putting pressure against the territory and threatening another leader, Leila de Ivy Katu.

Indigenous organizations are demanding the federalization of the investigation and protection for the territory and the leaders who have received death threats. The execution of the religious leader is also part of a context of religious violence, with burning of prayer houses in indigenous territories in the state.

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Anti-environmental caucus grows in Congress and Legal Amazon houses will be dominated by the right after 2023

Queimadas em Novo Progresso (PA)

Crédito: Cícero Pedrosa Neto/Amazônia Real

14 Nov 22

Anti-environmental caucus grows in Congress and Legal Amazon houses will be dominated by the right after 2023

The new Congress is not only further to the right – it has also become more anti-environmental. The Institute for Democracy and Sustainability (IDS) did a survey through its Green Panel that identified the growth of the anti-environmental caucus and the reduction of the environmental caucus. The percentage of mostly anti-environmental federal deputies rose from 37% to 42.6%, while the percentage of green federal deputies fell from 30% to 27%. The Senate loses two votes aligned with environmental issues and decreases its power to avoid setbacks on the agenda.

André Lima, coordinator of the IDS Green Panel evaluates, however, that “there is room to increase adherence to the environmental vote, working on the dialogue with the caucuses”.

In the specific case of the Legal Amazon region, the IDS report assesses that “the voices that will speak on behalf of Amazonian voters have low adhesion to the climate and environmental agendas”.

A survey by Amazônia Real indicates that the nine states in the region will see the advance of anti-environmental and anti-indigenous agendas and that Bolsonarism has been consolidated by the popular vote. In the state houses of the Legal Amazon, the five parties with the most representation, starting in 2023, will be: MDB (29 seats), União Brasil (26), Republicans (24), PL (22).

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Politicians elected in 2022 total R$ 24 million in environmental fines

Ibama team fights deforestation at Indigenous Land Tenharim do Igarapé Preto, in 2018

Vinícius Mendonça/Ibama/via CC BY-SA 2.0

15 Oct 22

Politicians elected in 2022 total R$ 24 million in environmental fines

A survey by Folha de S. Paulo showed that a total of 34 people elected on the October 2nd elections owe R$ 23.8 million in environmental fines, according to Ibama’s, Brazil’s federal environmental agency, database.

Bolsonaro’s party, PL, together with PSD and União Brasil are the parties with the highest number of fined politicians, with five each. Most of the violators found by the survey are in state assemblies and at the House of Representatives, but senators and governors are also included.

 

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Tool launched by Repórter Brasil shows Congress representatives voting on socio environmental matters

According to reserach, two in every three representatives vote against the environment

Credit: Repórter Brasil

16 Aug 22

Tool launched by Repórter Brasil shows Congress representatives voting on socio environmental matters

The investigative journalism agency Repórter Brasil launched the second edition of the tool that monitors how Congress representatives are positioned in relation to the environment agenda and rural workers. The “Ruralômetro 2022” shows that 68% of the representatives voted against the environment. 

That means that these are representatives who “presented bills and voted on legislative changes that harm environmental inspection, favor predatory economic activities, to make labor legislation precarious, to make access to social benefits difficult and to stop agrarian reform, among other setbacks pointed by socio-environmental organizations”, says the story that presents the project.

To measure the “rural fever” of parliamentarians, the tool gave each representative a score, ranging from 36⁰C to 42⁰C. The more aligned with the work of the ruralist caucus, the higher its temperature.

The evaluation was based on the analysis of 28 roll call votes and 485 bills presented in the current legislature.

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In three years, Brasil lost an area equal to Denmark in native forests

In 2021, deforestation increased by 20% in relation to the previous year

Credit: MapBiomas

18 Jul 22

In three years, Brasil lost an area equal to Denmark in native forests

Between 2019 and 2021, Brazil lost 42 thousand km² of native vegetation, according to deforestation alerts detected in the country’s 6 biomes, MapBiomas initiative revealed.

In their new report, the group reports that the country lost 16.557 km2 (1.655.782 ha) of its native cover in 2021. There were 69.796 deforestation alerts detected, 98% with evidence of illegality. 

From the total alerts, 66,8% were in the Amazon (977 thousand ha deforested, 59% of the total deforested area for the period; 15,2% in the Caatinga biome (190 thousand ha, 7% of the total deforested area), 9,9% in the Cerrado biome (500 thousand ha, 30,2% the total deforested area). Combined, the three biomes had 96,2% of native vegetation loss in the country for the period.

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Amazon region records highest number of fires in June in the last 15 years

Imagem de satélite registra os focos de incêndio durante estação da seca em 2019.

Crédito: NASA via Wikimedia Commons

1 Jul 22

Amazon region records highest number of fires in June in the last 15 years

The Inpe (National Institute for Space Research) registered 2562 fires in the Amazon in June. The figure is the highest in fifteen years and confirms two trends: that every June sets a new forest fires record under Bolsonaro and that, in view of the election year, environmental criminals are taking advantage of the leniency of Bolsonaro’s environmental policy to carry out illegal fires.

The increase, compared to May, was of 11%. The biome is now entering the fire season, which lasts from July to October. Every year, more than 120,000 people are hospitalized in the region for respiratory problems during the season.

 

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Forest burning doubles in the Amazon and Cerrado fires increase by 35%

Firest in the Cerrado are at their highest since 1998, when the measurements started

Credit: Agência Fapesp

2 Jun 22

Forest burning doubles in the Amazon and Cerrado fires increase by 35%

Data from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) released on June 1st showed that environmental devastation continues to grow in the country. The Amazon, with 2,287 outbreaks of forest fires, had the highest number of fires since 2004 and was 96% higher than last year.

In the Cerrado, the increase was 35% compared to May 2021, with 3,578 fires, the highest number since 1998, when measurements started. The tendency, according to specialists, is to get worse, since the most intense fire season has not yet arrived. Most of the burning, according to scholars, is done by the agricultural sector.

 

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Pataxó indigenous people protest against Bolsonaro during speech that celebrated the portuguese invasion

Cabral’s monument is painted over with urucum by protesters

Credit: Suhyasun Pataxó

26 Apr 22

Pataxó indigenous people protest against Bolsonaro during speech that celebrated the portuguese invasion

On April 22nd, dozens of indigenous people, mostly from the Pataxó population, occupied the historic city center of Porto Seguro (BA) in a protest against president Jair Bolsonaro, who was in town attending an official event to honor the 522nd anniversary of the arrival of Portuguese colonizers to Brazil. Footage from the protest showing indigenous people marching and chanting against the president went viral. 

A  few days later, also in the south of Bahia, Pataxó people manifested in front of the mayor’s office of small town Pau Brasil due to police violence. On April 19th, military police officers beat up Priscila Muniz and her husband as they were leaving a public event. 

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Tereza Cristina leaves Agriculture Ministry with 1654 pesticides liberated during her term

The newly appointed minister is a former president of the agribusiness caucus

Credit: Creative Commons

31 Mar 22

Tereza Cristina leaves Agriculture Ministry with 1654 pesticides liberated during her term

“We did a lot with very little, President, because there was no corruption in your government”. On March 29, this was how the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Tereza Cristina, said goodbye to the position, in a speech, next to Jair Bolsonaro. A great ally of the president and of the agribusiness agenda, Cristina left to run for the Senate in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

Since the beginning of her administration, which started on January 1, 2019, she tried to loosen the rules for pesticide approval. This administration has released 1654 new pesticide products, a record high.

The executive secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Marcos Montes, was announced as the new minister and took office on March 31. Pontes is former president of the Parliamentary Front for Agribusiness and federal representative for the PSD party in Minas Gerais. In a statement about the change, the Federal Government said that the new minister takes office “with a policy of continuity of the management implemented in the last three years”.

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Ministry awards Bolsonaro with medal for indigenist work under protest from leaders

A number of high echelon members of the government were awarded


Credit: Isaac Amorim/MJSP

18 Mar 22

Ministry awards Bolsonaro with medal for indigenist work under protest from leaders

The Ministry of Justice and Public Security awarded President Jair Bolsonaro the Medal of Indigenist Merit, “a recognition for his services related to the welfare, protection and defense of indigenous communities.”

Another 25 people received the homage, including the Ministers Braga Netto (Defense); Tereza Cristina (Agriculture); Damares Alves (Women, Family and Human Rights); Augusto Heleno (Institutional Security); Luiz Eduardo Ramos (Secretary General); Tarcísio Gomes (Infrastructure); João Roma (Citizenship); Marcelo Queiroga (Health), as well as the General Attorney, Bruno Leal, the president of the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), Marcelo Xavier, and officials from other agencies.

The Indigenous Peoples of Brazil Networl (Apib) rejected the award due to the “constant violations committed against the indigenous peoples in Brazil” since the beginning of the current government. In response, Apib symbolically presented Bolsonaro with the Indigenous Genocide Medal.

 

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Public land theft explodes between the states of Amazonas, Acre and Rondônia

ONG aponta mega esquema de grilagem na fronteira entre os estados

Créditos: Christian Braga/Greenpeace

8 Mar 22

Public land theft explodes between the states of Amazonas, Acre and Rondônia

A study conducted by the NGO Greenpeace has exposed a scheme of land grabbing in an area of the Amazon rich in biodiversity, located between the states of Amazonas, Acre and Rondônia.

The region, known as Amacro (the acronym for the three states), covers 454,220 km², almost the size of Spain, and is home to the “Gleba João Bento”, a “target of a chain of fraudulent titles, leading to the appearance of hundreds of purchase and sale deeds and duplicate property registrations,” according to an article in O Estado de São Paulo. Glebas are large areas of government property not yet designated, i.e. public lands that should be transformed into areas of conservation or sustainable use.

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BNDES lends R$ 29 million so deforesters can purchase of agricultural machinery

A loophole in the Central Bank was utilized by the criminals

Crédito: Victor Moriyama/Greenpeace

16 Feb 22

BNDES lends R$ 29 million so deforesters can purchase of agricultural machinery

Five farmers fined by the environmental agency Ibama for deforestation obtained loans of R$28.6 million reais from the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) to buy tractors and other agricultural machinery. The transaction was operated by John Deere, which sold the equipment, according to a report by Repórter Brasil.

In all, more than R$39.701 million were lent to 11 farmers who owe more than R$31 million in unpaid environmental fines to Ibama.

After the report was published, members of the Worker’s Party (PT) and Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, of Rede Sustentabilidade Party, filed representations with the Federal Audit Court (TCU) requesting the adoption of precautionary measures to halt financial transfers by BNDES “to people or entities convicted or investigated for environmental violations.”

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Areas burned down during "Day of the Fire" are now illegaly occupied by soybean fields

Em 2019, incêndios criminosos foram orquestrados por fazendeiros locais em apoio ao recém-presidente Bolsonaro

Crédito: Fernando Martinho/Repórter Brasil

8 Feb 22

Areas burned down during “Day of the Fire” are now illegaly occupied by soybean fields

Between August 10 and 11, 2019, farmers and landowners in the southwest of Pará state mobilized to set fire to areas of the Amazon forest in an episode that became known as “Day of the Fire.” In the period, the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) detected 1,457 hotspots in the state, an increase of 1,923% compared to the previous year. More than two years later, Repórter Brasil revealed that the burned area is now home to soybean fields. The agency carried out an unprecedented survey by cross-referencing the coordinates of the locations where it spotted the plantations with fire alert data from NASA satellites at the time.

One of the main areas affected by the fire, the Sustainable Development Project Terra Nossa, a settlement of the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA), was also invaded by monoculture, even though this type of cultivation goes against the purpose of this type of agrarian reform, intended for the subsistence of the settled families.

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Cerrado savanna deforestation reaches record high in 2021

Around 50% of the Cerrado is already destroyed

Credit: Victor Moriyama/Greenpeace

5 Jan 22

Cerrado savanna deforestation reaches record high in 2021

The Cerrado savanna biome recorded the highest rate of deforestation since 2015, according to data from the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe). According to a technical note from the institute, released on December 31, there was a 7.9% increase in the suppression of native vegetation from August 2020 to July 2021, the official period for measuring annual deforestation from the PRODES system, adding up to 8,531.44 km2.

Historically, the biome suffers from the advance of agribusiness and cattle ranching and had many conflicts over land and water, between landowners and local farmers, ribeirinhos, quilombolas and fishermen, a problem intensified with the election of Jair Bolsonaro as president in 2019.

Of the total deforested area, 61.3% (5227.32 km²) was concentrated in the region known as Matopiba, an agricultural frontier that encompasses part of the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia, indicates an analysis by the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM). Ane Alencar, science director of IPAM, says that the data needs to be taken seriously. “This region needs a special look at the conflicts that have become more acute because of this conversion [of native vegetation for agriculture and cattle raising]. The increase in deforestation in the Cerrado shows that the lack of environmental governance and the resulting socio-environmental conflicts are not prerogative of the Amazon alone”.

When heard by Reuters, the researcher stated that the increase in deforestation in the biome registered in 2021 is a reflection of the government’s stance towards the problem. “Deforestation is the most bare indicator of the terrible environmental policy that this government has had,” she concluded.

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Land grabbers force indigenous leaders to sign treaty that reduce their territory

Invaders surround the Funai and Ibama headquarters at Apyterewa Indigenous Land

Credit: UOL/Reproduction

2 Dec 21

Land grabbers force indigenous leaders to sign treaty that reduce their territory

The substantial increase of invaders in the Apyterewa Indigenous Land, in São Félix do Xingu, in the state of Pará, during Bolsonaro’s administration, caused the chiefs of the Parakanã ethnic group to “accept” the “agreement” to reduce the 50.7% of their Indigenous Land, ratified 14 years ago, as proposed by land grabbers in the region.

It is estimated that 3,000 people are invading the territory in the most deforested municipality in the Amazon. The ceded part of the territory could be worth up to R$3.9 billion and reinforces the fear of losing demarcated indigenous reservations to land grabbers. The story was explained in detail in the report by Rubens Valente on UOL.

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Study: Recurring droughts affect the regeneration capacity of the Amazon

The forest’s carbon absorption capacity could be compromised

Credit: Fábio Nascimento/Greenpeace

25 Nov 21

Study: Recurring droughts affect the regeneration capacity of the Amazon

A study by Brazilian and Portuguese researchers, published in the scientific journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles shows that severe and recurrent droughts have compromised the ability of stretches of the Amazon forest to recover.

According to biologist Fausto Machado-Silva, a researcher at the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) and author of the study, the periods of 2005, 2010 and 2015 were particularly severe for the region.

The publication analyzed the primary productivity of the forest, measured by the amount of organic matter produced by the vegetation, a common parameter for evaluating the regeneration capacity of ecosystems. The results indicated that carbon uptake during the recovery period of a drought was 13 percent lower compared to pre-drought levels.

As a warning, the researchers reinforce what has already been said by scientists and environmentalists, that fighting deforestation in the Amazon is crucial to curb climate change. 

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Brazil ranks fourth all-time in greenhouse gas emissions

Deforestation and cattle ranching are among the main vectors of destruction

Credit: Christian Braga/Greenpeace

27 Oct 21

Brazil ranks fourth all-time in greenhouse gas emissions

A study conducted by the international think tank Carbon Brief places Brazil in fourth place in the ranking of the most polluting countries in the world, considering the historical accumulation of carbon gas emissions from 1850 to 2021. The survey includes data on emissions from fossil fuel burning, changes in land use, deforestation and cement production. 

In Brazil, most pollution comes from the clearing of forests and the use of land for agriculture and cattle ranching, two major vectors of the current environmental devastation underway in the country under the Bolsonaro administration. Heard by BBC Brazil, the executive secretary of the Climate Observatory, Marcio Astrini, commented on the history of emissions in the country. “If you take the last 30 years, 73% of the planet’s emissions are in the energy sector. If you take the last 30 years in Brazil, 55% of emissions are from deforestation. If you include emissions from Brazilian livestock, we reach 80%”, he said.

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In the Amazon, 75% of deforested areas in public forests became pastures for cattle, study shows

Deforestation in public land grew in pace in the last ten years

Credit: EBC/via Rede Brasil Atual

26 Oct 21

In the Amazon, 75% of deforested areas in public forests became pastures for cattle, study shows

Brazil lost 21 million hectares of the Amazon between 1997 and 2020, according to a study by the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM). In 23 years, the region known as Legal Amazon lost 8% of its public forests and 75% of the deforested areas became pasture, emitting 10.2 gigatonnes of CO2, the equivalent of five years of greenhouse gas emissions in the country.

According to Paulo Moutinho, from IPAM, land grabbing is “a risk factor for the planet’s climate balance” and has intensified over the last ten years.

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Congressman aligned with Bolsonaro participated in scheme to buy tractors with public funds

Government had a “secret budget” to buy support


Credit:MDR

25 Oct 21

Congressman aligned with Bolsonaro participated in scheme to buy tractors with public funds

The purchase of tractors and other agricultural machinery with heavy suspicions of overbilling was financed with public funds from at least 30 parliamentarians, indicates an  investigation of O Estado de São Paulo.

The investigation reached the full list of names crossing information from an internal spreadsheet of the Ministry of Regional Development and a report from the Office of the Comptroller General (CGU), prepared after the newspaper revealed in May that the ministry received R$ 3 billion (USD 600 million)  in amendments to help the government’s allied base in Congress

According to the newspaper, Rep. Vitor Hugo (GO); Senator Davi Alcolumbre (DEM-AP); and Rep. Domingos Neto (PSD-CE), general rapporteur of the 2020 budget, participated in the scheme.

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Farming and cattle-raising have invaded 26.5 million hectares of the Brazilian Savanna over the past 36 years

Region known as Matopiba is a target in the Cerrado biome

Credit: Isac Nóbrega/PR,via CC BY 2.0

10 Sep 21

Farming and cattle-raising have invaded 26.5 million hectares of the Brazilian Savanna over the past 36 years

From 1985 to 2020, agriculture and cattle ranching were responsible for the disappearance of 98.9% of the 26.5 million hectares of native vegetation cover lost in the Cerrado biome, according to a study by MapBiomas . The remainder is attributed to urban expansion.

The wetlands, points out an article on the O Eco portal, had their areas reduced by 10.3% in the last 36 years. “These changes are important indicators of alterations from an ecological point of view in these systems, because they point out that in some areas there is a loss of water in these wetlands, as well as a transition to areas of dry field and savanna,” explained Dhemerson Conciani, of the MapBiomas Cerrado team, in the webinar that presented the data.

The study also highlights the loss of vegetation in the agricultural expansion frontier known as Matopiba, a showcase of Brazilian agribusiness that occupies part of the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia. Between 2010 and 2020, more than half of the total lost by the biome (3.23 million of 6.04 million hectares) was in the region. 

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