https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/macron-amazon-forest-fires-veto-mercosur-eu-trade-deal-brazil-a9076181.html

France will block an EU trade deal with Brazil and its neighbours over the country’s handling of fires in the Amazon rainforest, a spokesperson for Emmanuel Macron has said.

Brazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro has been criticised around the world for his response to the fires, which scientists say are man-made and campaigners have linked to businesses looking to exploit the land.

“The president can only conclude President Bolsonaro lied to him at the Osaka summit,” a spokesperson for the Elysee told the Reuters news agency.

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/amazon-rainforest-fires-bolsonaro-blames-charities-for-worst-ever-blazes-z8c0tkt7h

Wildfires raging in the Amazon rainforest are an international crisis that must be tackled by the world’s richest nations, President Macron has declared.

The French leader said that the record number of fires that have broken out this month, ravaging forests in Brazil and neighbouring countries, must be top of the agenda at this weekend’s G7 summit in Biarritz.

His remarks drew a sharp response from President Bolsonaro of Brazil, who blames environmental groups for the surge in wildfires as he tries to deflect international criticism

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/23/amazon-rainforest-fires-deforestation-jair-bolsonaro

The rainforest might seem a remote place, but it is the heart of the planet – and it is under attack as never before

The Amazon is the centre of the world. Right now, as our planet experiences climate collapse, there is nowhere more important. If we don’t grasp this, there is no way to meet that challenge.

For 500 years, this has been a place of ruins. First with the European invasion, which brought a particularly destructive form of civilisation, the death of hundreds of thousands of indigenous men and women and the extinction of dozens of peoples. More recently, with the clearance of vast swaths of the forest and all life within it. Right now, in 2019, we are witnessing the beginning of a new, disastrous chapter. The area of trees being cleared has surged this year. In July, the deforestation rate was an area the size of Manhattan every day, a Greater London every three weeks. This month, fires are incinerating the Amazon at a record rate, almost certainly part of a scorched-earth strategy to clear territory. Why is this happening now? Because of a change in power.

A predatory form of politics called Bolsonarism has assumed nearly total, and totalitarian, power in BrazilA predatory form of politics called Bolsonarism has assumed nearly total, and totalitarian, power in Brazil. President Jair Bolsonaro’s chief project is to create more ruins in the Amazon forest, methodically and swiftly. This is why, for the first time since Brazil became a democracy again, it effectively has a minister against the environment.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/23/amazon-fires-what-is-happening-anything-we-can-do

What is happening in the Amazon?

Thousands of fires are burning in Brazil, many of them in the world’s biggest rainforest, which is sending clouds of smoke across the region and pumping alarming quantities of carbon into the world’s atmosphere.

Does this happen every year?

Yes, but some areas have suffered far more than usual. In the worst-affected Brazilian state of Amazonas, the peak day this month was 700% higher than the average for the same date over the past 15 years. In other states, the amount of ash and other particulates in August has hit the highest level since 2010.

What is the cause?

Most of the fires are agricultural, either smallholders burning stubble after harvest, or farmers clearing forest for cropland. Illegal land-grabbers also destroy trees so they can raise the value of the property they seize. But they are man-made and mostly deliberate.

Unlike the huge recent blazes in Siberia and Alaska, the Amazon fires are very unlikely to have been caused by lightning.

Is the entire forest ablaze?

No. Satellite monitoring experts say the images of an entire forest ablaze are exaggerated. A great deal of misinformation has been spread by social media, including the use of striking images from previous years’ burning seasons. This week, there are more large fires in Colombia and eastern Brazil than in the Amazon. Most of the agricultural burn-offs are in deforested areas. But there are also fires in protected reserves.

So should we still be concerned?

Extremely. The fires are mostly illegal and they are degrading the world’s biggest terrestrial carbon sink and most important home for biodiversity. They also contribute to a more important trend, which is an alarming rise in deforestation. Scientists say the Amazon is approaching a tipping point, after which it will irreversibly degrade into a dry savannah. At a time when the world needs billions more trees to absorb carbon and stabilise the climate, the planet is losing its biggest forest.

How much forest is being lost?

In July, deforestation spiked to a level not seen in more than a decade. According to preliminary satellite data from Brazil’s space agency trees were being cleared at the rate of five football pitches every minute. Over the single month, ,2,254 sq km (870 sq miles) were lost, a rise of 278% on the same month last year. Scientists say this year could be the first for 10 years in which 10,000 sq km of Amazon are lost.

Is this the fault of the Brazilian president?

Jair Bolsonaro has made things a lot worse by weakening the environment agency, attacking conservation NGOs and promoting the opening of the Amazon to mining, farming and logging. The far-right leader has dismissed satellite data on deforestation and fired the head of the space agency. But it is not solely his fault. The agricultural lobby is powerful in Brazil and it has steadily eroded the protection system that was so successful from 2005-2014. Deforestation crept up in the past five years under the previous presidents Dilma Rousseff and Michel Temer. But the rate has accelerated rapidly in the first eight months of Bolsonaro’s rule.

What is the outside world doing?

The UN secretary general and many world leaders and celebrities have expressed concern. The Amazon will be high on the agenda for G7 leaders at a summit in France this weekend. They are likely to make a strong statement condemning the recent increase in deforestation and urge Brazil to restore the Amazon protections that previously made the country a global environmental leader.

Is that enough?

No. The priority should be building a buffer against the tipping point and drawing down emissions, which means not just protection of the Amazon but massive reforestation. This will require far more financial support than anything seen until now. For this to be effective, governments will also need to align their environment and trade policies. Currently countries like the UK spend small sums on overseas conservation, then promote billions of dollars worth of trade in beef, soy, timber, minerals and other products that undermine Amazon protection efforts. Politicians should also listen more to the voices of the people who live in the forest, such as indigenous groups and riverine communities.

 

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Indigenous people from the Mura tribe show a deforested area in unmarked indigenous lands in Amazonas state. Photograph: Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters

What can individuals do?

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Read more

The most important actions are political and collective. Join a party or campaign group that makes the Amazon a priority. Through these groups, urge your elected representatives to block trade deals with countries that destroy their forests and to provide more support for countries that expand tree cover.

Apart from this, donate to organisations that support the forest, forest dwellers and biodiversity, including Instituto Socioambiental, Amazon Watch, WWF, Greenpeace, Imazon, International Rivers and Friends of the Earth.

As consumers, think twice before buying Brazilian beef or other products unless certified by groups such as Rainforest Alliance. The Amazon connection is not always obvious.

As the crisis escalates…

… in our natural world, we refuse to turn away from the climate catastrophe and species extinction. For The Guardian, reporting on the environment is a priority. We give reporting on climate, nature and pollution the prominence it deserves, stories which often go unreported by others in the media. At this pivotal time for our species and our planet, we are determined to inform readers about threats, consequences and solutions based on scientific facts, not political prejudice or business interests.

 

 

See also https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2019/08/21/brazil-there-is-war-in-amazonas/

 

This site is primarily an animal rights / welfare site. But we also attempt to cover environmental issues when we feel there is need. Now is major need time for the Amazon.

https://mailchi.mp/amazonfrontlines/brazil?e=84705a74b2

The Amazon rainforest is on fire. Millions of acres of indigenous territory across Brazil are burning, releasing enormous amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere. This is what the climate crisis looks like: Our planet’s largest and most important rainforest going up in smoke.

Amazon Frontlines has joined forces with our indigenous allies in Brazil and is raising funds for the Indigenous Confederation of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB). All funds raised will support the frontline brigades now fighting these fires, and help them build political and technical capacity to continue protecting the forest in the future.

The fires now raging across the Amazon are not natural. They are part of a political crisis in which the governments of the region, most notably that of Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, has enabled the wanton destruction of formerly protected areas, including hundreds of indigneous lands. For years, indigenous groups in Brazil have been trying to warn the world that they cannot hold off the devastation alone. Too often, their voices have been silenced, just as the Amazon is being silenced now.

Let’s turn this disaster into hope, lets change this into action, and let’s work towards the future together. Let’s pray for the Amazon, but also fight for it.

Donate to the Amazon fund – https://www.amazonfrontlines.org/donate/brazil/

 

Amazon fires: ‘Our house is burning’, Macron warns ahead of G7

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-49443389

French President Emmanuel Macron has said the record number of fires in the Amazon rainforest is an “international crisis” that needs to top the agenda at this weekend’s G7 summit.

“Our house is burning,” he tweeted.

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro responded by accusing Mr Macron of using the issue for “political gain”.

He said calls to discuss the fires at the G7 summit in Biarritz, which Brazil is not participating in, evoke “a misplaced colonialist mindset”.

The largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon is a vital carbon store that slows down the pace of global warming.

Satellite data published by the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) has shown an increase of 85% this year in fires across Brazil, most of them in the Amazon region.

• In graphics: How bad are the Amazon fires?
• ‘Football pitch’ of Amazon forest lost every minute

Conservationists have blamed Mr Bolsonaro’s government for the Amazon’s plight, saying that he has encouraged loggers and farmers to clear the land.

Mr Bolsonaro has suggested that non-governmental organisations started the fires, but admitted he had no evidence for this claim. In comments on Thursday, he acknowledged that farmers might be involved in setting fires in the region, according to Reuters news agency.

Environmental groups have called for protests in cities across Brazil on Friday to demand action to combat the fires.

Mr Bolsonaro responded by accusing the French president of using a Brazilian domestic issue for “personal political gain”.

He said he was open to dialogue about the fires if it was “based on objective data and mutual respect”, but hit out at the calls for it to be discussed at the G7 summit.

“The French president’s suggestion that Amazonian issues be discussed at the G7 without the participation of the countries of the region evokes a misplaced colonialist mindset, which does not belong in the 21st century,” he wrote on social media.

• Brazil wildfires prompt ‘prayers’ for the Amazon rainforest
• Is the honeymoon period over for Brazil’s Bolsonaro?

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also said he is “deeply concerned” about the fires in the Amazon.

“In the midst of the global climate crisis, we cannot afford more damage to a major source of oxygen and biodiversity. The Amazon must be protected,” he tweeted.

A new level of dismissal

Analysis by Daniel Gallas, BBC News, Sao Paulo

Brazilian presidents shrugging off international concern about the Amazon is nothing new.

Others before Mr Bolsonaro have dismissed international NGOs and European leaders as foreign meddlers into national affairs.

But Mr Bolsonaro has taken this to a new level by suggesting NGOs may be responsible for encouraging wildfires to sabotage him.

His words may shock some international audiences, but they ring true to his supporters at home, where he remains a popular leader.

Surprisingly the one reproving voice that could influence this debate is that of Brazilian farmers.

One would think that they would support policies to promote more farming in the Amazon. But some agricultural leaders fear Mr Bolsonaro’s poor handling of Brazil’s image abroad could hurt exports of soybeans and beef.

Some farmers have already urged a change of tone from the government. These are voices the president may be open to hearing.

How has Bolsonaro reacted to the fires?

Mr Bolsonaro has said that the country is not equipped to fight the fires. “The Amazon is bigger than Europe, how will you fight criminal fires in such an area?,” he asked reporters as he left the presidential residence on Thursday. “We do not have the resources for that.”

The president has suggested that NGOs may have started fires as revenge for his government slashing their funding.

Asked on Thursday who was responsible, he said: “The Indians, do you want me to blame the Indians? Do you want me to blame the Martians?… Everyone is a suspect, but the biggest suspects are NGOs.”

When asked if there was any proof of this, he replied: “Did I accuse NGOs directly? I just said I suspect them.”

Mr Bolsonaro has further angered those concerned over the spike in fires by brushing off the data.

He argued that it was the season of the “queimada”, when farmers burn land to clear it before planting. However, Inpe has noted that the number of fires is not in line with those normally reported during the dry season.

It is not the first time that Mr Bolsonaro has cast doubt on figures suggesting that the Amazon is deteriorating rapidly.

Last month, he accused Inpe’s director of lying about the scale of deforestation there. It came after Inpe published data showing an 88% increase in deforestation in the Amazon in June compared with the same month a year ago.

The director of the agency later announced that he was being sacked amid the row.

 

 

Why is he being criticised?

Climate activists and conservationists have been scathing about the Bolsonaro government and its policies, which favour development over conservation.

They say that since President Bolsonaro took office, the Amazon rainforest has suffered losses at an accelerated rate.

Their anger was further fuelled by satellite data showing a steep rise in fires in the Amazon region this year.

The figures suggest there have been more than 75,000 fires so far this year for the whole of Brazil, compared with just over 40,000 over the same period in 2018.

The figures and satellite images showing most of the state of Roraima, in northern Brazil, covered by smoke have shocked many Brazilians and triggered a global Twitter trend under the hashtag #prayforamazonia

As well as a fifth of the world’s oxygen, the region also produces about 20% of the world’s fresh water, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

The Amazon is also home to about three million species of plants and animals, and one million indigenous people.

What causes the fires?

Wildfires often occur in the dry season in Brazil but they are also deliberately started in efforts to illegally deforest land for cattle ranching.

“The dry season creates the favourable conditions for the use and spread of fire, but starting a fire is the work of humans, either deliberately or by accident,” Inpe researcher Alberto Setzer told Reuters news agency.

Ricardo Mello, head of the WWF Amazon Programme, said the fires were “a consequence of the increase in deforestation seen in recent figures.