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Biodiversity under concerted attack in Brazil
 From: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/364/6438/341.1/tab-e-letters
Brazil harbours the planet’s greatest biodiversity, but President Bolsonaro’s administration is undermining advances in environmental conservation achieved during the last decades. Just to cite some examples, the federal government has withdrawn the offer to host the next Conference of the Parties on Climate Change, legalized pesticides prohibited in other countries and dismantled federal environmental protection agencies. In view of these kickbacks, 602 European scientists and two indigenous organizations recently argued that Europe should make trade with Brazil sustainable (1).
The greatest threat so far is a bill in discussion by the Senate to eliminate the Legal Reserve requirement from the 2012 Native Vegetation Protection Law (2). Currently, with some exceptions, Legal Reserves are required to maintain forest and/or non-forest native vegetation cover on at least 50 to 80% of every property in the Amazon, 20 to 35% in the Cerrado savannas, and 20% in remaining regions. If passed, this bill will likely trigger swift and irreparable biodiversity losses in Brazil and jeopardise climate change mitigation efforts.
For political leaders of the rural sector supporting this bill, encroaching on native vegetation is a convenient way to boost agricultural production, mainly of beef and soybean that are mainstays of Brazil’s floundering economy. However, improving productivity on already converted land could well meet demands for several decades without reducing native vegetation (3). Furthermore, Brazil´s economic dependence on commodities is worrisome as commodity dependent countries usually have lower human development indices (4).
Against all reason, scientific evidence is being systematically disregarded by the hegemonic group holding power in Brazil (5), with likely long-lasting catastrophic impacts on biodiversity and society. For the sake of environment security, further engagement between scientists and policy-makers is urgently needed to demonstrate the role of Legal Reserves in maintaining essential ecosystem services that benefit farmers, society and the Brazilian economy in the long term.
References:
1. L. Kehoe et al., Make EU trade with Brazil sustainable. Science 364, 341 (2019).
2. B. Soares-Filho et al., Land use cracking Brazil's Forest Code. Science 344, 363-364 (2014).
3. B. B. N. Strassburg et al., When enough should be enough: Improving the use of current agricultural lands could meet production demands and spare natural habitats in Brazil. Gl. Environ. Ch. 28, 84–97 (2014).
4. United Nations, “State of commodity dependence” (United Nations Conference on trade and development – UNCTAD 2016) (2017).
5. N. Pettorelli et al., Applied ecologists in a landscape of fear. J. Appl. Ecol. 56, 1034-1039 (2019).
Sidinei M. Thomaz
Universidade Estadual de Maringá
Other Contributors:
Mercedes M. C. Bustamante,
Universidade de Brasília
Valério D. Pillar, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Adalberto L. Val, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia
Alexandre Turra, Universidade de São Paulo
Blandina F. Viana, Universidade Federal da Bahia
Carlos A. Nobre, Instituto de Estudos Avançados – Universidade de São Paulo
Carlos A. Joly, Universidade Estadual de Campinas
Catia N. da Cunha, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso
Cristiana S. Seixas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas
Cristina Adams, Universidade de São Paulo
Daniele V. Nova, Painel Mar
Eduardo J. Viola, Universidade de Brasília
Enrico Bernard, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
Erich A. Fischer, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul
Fábio R. Scarano, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Francisca S. de Araújo, Universidade Federal do Ceará
Gabriela M. di Giulio, Universidade de São Paulo
Geraldo W. A. Fernandes, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Gerd Sparovek, Universidade de São Paulo
Gerhard E. Overbeck, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Gislene M. S. Ganade, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte
Gustavo Romero, Universidade Estadual de Campinas
Helder L. Queiroz, Instituto Mamirauá
Helena G. Bergallo, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
Ima C. G. Vieira, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi
Jean Paul W. Metzger, Universidade de São Paulo
Jean P. Ometto, Centro de Ciência do Sistema Terrestre/INPE
Joice N. Ferreira, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária
José A. F. Diniz Filho, Universidade Federal de Goiás
José A. M. Orsini, Centro Nacional de Monitoramento e Alertas de Desastres Naturais
José Sabino, Universidade Anhanguera - Uniderp, MS
Leandra Gonçalves, Universidade de São Paulo
Leonor C. Maia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
Leopoldo C. Gerhardinger, Associação de Estudos Costeiros e Marinhos dos Abrolhos - ECOMAR
Letícia C. Garcia, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul
Ludmilla M. S. Aguiar, Universidade de Brasília
Luiz A. Martinelli, Universidade de São Paulo
Marcelo Tabarelli, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
Márcia C. M. Marques, Universidade Federal do Paraná
Margareth S. Copertino, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande
Maria Alice S. Alves, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
Maria Manuela L. C. da Cunha, Uni Chicago
Maria Teresa F. Piedade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia
Michele Dechoum, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
Paulo E. Artaxo Netto, Universidade de São Paulo
Pedro L. B. da Rocha, Universidade Federal da Bahia
Rafael D. Loyola, Universidade Federal de Goiás e Fundação Brasileira para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável
Renato S. B. Cordeiro, Instituto Osvaldo Cruz
Ricardo B. Machado, Universidade de Brasília
Ricardo R. Rodrigues, Universidade de São Paulo
Rômulo S. C. Menezes, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
Ronaldo B. Francini Filho, Universidade Federal da Paraíba
Sergio R. Floeter, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
Tatiana M. C. Gadda, Universidade Federal Tecnológica do Paraná
Thomas M. Lewinsohn, Universidade Estadual de Campinas
(25 June 2019)
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