Clarification

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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