I would like to express an opinion
and, somehow, clarify some points in the article “Saving the Amazon Rainforest
is the entire humanity’s responsibility”, published in the
Jordan News February 19,
2022, which raises legitimate concerns about the environment that I share, as
does the vast majority of Brazilians.
اضافة اعلان
Brazil’s commitment to the
protection of the Amazon Rainforest and the environment is unshakable. Firm
policies toward our forests kept two thirds (66.3 percent) of the Brazilian
territory covered with native vegetation within areas protected by law approved
by the parliament, such as national parks, conservation areas, indigenous
reserves and a protected area within private rural properties.
The Brazilians Forest Code, approved
in 2012, provides that not less than 80 percent of the total area of each
private property in the Amazon region is to be kept as forest. No country in
the world has such strict and complete environmental legislation.
In Brazil, the Amazon Rainforest
covers 5.2 million km2, almost 60 times the size of Jordan, and is
home to 12 percent of the Brazilian population, something close to 30 million
people. The Amazon Rainforest is immense and its problems are complex.
Part of the annual deforestation of
the Amazon Rainforest is caused by natural fires, such as those that afflict
Mediterranean countries, the west coast of the United States and Australia.
Another part, undoubtably, is illegal and criminal, and, in this sense, the
Brazilian government recognizes that it faces a great challenge, which many
times is linked to the illegal export of wood, stimulated, to a large extent,
by buyers in developed countries.
The solution to this problem depends
on a robust application of national and international resources. In Brazil,
human and financial resources destined to strengthen polices and environmental
agencies have doubled in recent years. However, the commitment of developed
countries, assumed at the Climate Convention in 2009, to finance actions to
mitigate climate change in developing countries has not been fulfilled.
In absolute numbers, deforestation
in the Amazon Rainforest has unfortunately grown in recent years, from 10,129 km2 in 2019 to 13,235 km2 in 2021, but it is at levels much lower than what
it was 15 years ago, when it reached 27,772 km2.
Differentiating between what is
legal and what is illegal in this situation is key to address the second
argument in the article.
It was not because of deforestation
that Brazil became a world agricultural powerhouse.
In the Amazon biome, 84 percent of
the forest is intact and it is home to the greatest biodiversity on the planet.
Decades of conscious investment in science, technology and innovation resulted in
significant productivity gains. Brazilian agriculture is sustainable,
technologically advanced, low carbon and offers quality, quantity and low price
to consumers.
Currently, Brazil is responsible for
feeding 1 billion people in the world, which guarantees food security in many
countries. In Jordan, for example, about 82 percent of all poultry meat, 53
percent of the beef, 30 percent of the coffee and 24 percent of the corn
imported come from Brazil.
With respect to CO2 emissions, our environmental credentials are unquestionable and our
responsibilities are consistent. Among other states, Brazil is an example in
electricity generation, with 83 percent of it coming from clean and renewable
sources.
Ruy Amaral, Ambassador of Brazil to Jordan
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