This article written in the Economist entails the tragic details of the fight to preserve the rainforests. Specifically, what Brazil’s national park agents are doing to protect the Amazon rainforest from being exploited for its raw materials. The team of agents uses satellite images to find the locations of so-called ‘wildcatters’, this is a grueling and dangerous task. These criminals partake in deforestation, cutting the forest down with chainsaws or using slash-and-burn tactics. Sometimes they are after the timber, while other times their intention is to get below ground to mine for gold, other precious metals and minerals.
Maia writes “The destruction of the world’s rainforests is not only a scandal; it is a colossal market failure” (Maia, p.2, 2023). This loss of biodiversity is truly a tragedy for the local region and people, but also for the entire globe. The impacts of biodiversity loss, affect us all in the long term and people tend to be too greedy and ignorant of these facts. The forest is essential in things like, carbon sequestration and the water cycle. Maia states that 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions stem from / can be traced back to deforestation (Maia, p.2, 2023). Here is a good breakdown of the drivers of deforestation (sectioned off into producers and consumers) (Ritchie, 2021). In poor nations like the Congo, the unavailability of things, such as machines and chainsaws, is a blessing for the forest (Maia, p.8, 2023). However, it is only a matter of time before these countries and its people get exploited, bringing some temporary gains, such as economic benefits and employment, but at the cost of the long-term health and wellbeing of society and the natural world.
Maia states that when looked at from a holistic standpoint, the gains and profits being made by selling these raw materials are practically cents in comparison to the cost of the true damage being done. Maia says “On average, a hectare of freshly cleared pasture sells for about $1,200. Not counting the effect on biodiversity, the social costs of Amazonian deforestation are about 30 times the benefits, estimates Dr Nepstad.” (Maia, p.2, 2023). Thus, the cost to the environment and society is not being considered. If we want to keep warming to below 1.5 or 2.0, in accordance with the Paris Agreement, then we must pay for the carbon emissions that we are causing. Maia says that many of these problems should be fixed by the governments of the world.
The concept of property rights (defining legal rights over who owns property and how that property can be used) is also introduced as being a missing piece in countries such as Brazil and Indonesia. There is little to no defined ownership, and no one feels responsible for the protection of this land. Thus, there are no stewards who protect the land. Lack of law enforcement, coupled with corruption is oftentimes a fatal hand for nature. In Brazil, it is apparent, that with every new government that comes into power, the laws regarding nature preservation change with the agendas and politics of that particular party. There are no rules that are set in stone. Without this sense of direction, any regulations are hard to enforce and lose their validity. Often times, they are undermined, becoming more of a joke to those partaking in the illegal actions.
Reference:
Maia, A. (2023). The biggest obstacle to saving rainforests is lawlessness. The Economist. https://www.economist.com/international/2023/02/27/the-biggest-obstacle-to-saving-rainforests-is-lawlessness
Ritchie, H. (2021). Carbon emissions from deforestation: Are they driven by domestic demand or international trade?. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/carbon-deforestation-trade#:~:text=Summary,deforestation%20occurs%20in%20the%20tropics.
What is the Paris Agreement?. Unfccc.int. (n.d.). https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement