Brazil: President Lula unveils new plan against deforestation in the Amazon

In Brazil, President Lula presented on Monday, June 5, 2023, a new plan to combat illegal deforestation in the Amazon, on the occasion of World Environment Day. The ambitious plan, which includes several hundred goals, comes at a time when conservative-controlled Congress has weakened the Environment Department's policy options.

Brazilian President Lui Inacio Lula da Silva speaks at an event in Brasilia on June 5, 2023, to announce a plan against Amazon deforestation © Gustavo Moreno/AP

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The environment is once again a priority, after four years of indifference and abandonment, Lula welcomed in unveiling this plan, which takes up the one put in place during his first presidency: it had helped reduce the rate of deforestation by 83% between 2004 and 2012. A plan suspended in 2019 by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro - deforestation had jumped by 75% compared to the previous decade.

The new programme has been welcomed by environmental organisations – including its willingness to seize half of the illegally cleared areas, and to increase inspection teams. By 2027, three million hectares of these conservation areas will be demarcated. In addition, it announces the hiring of thousands of analysts to strengthen surveillance, as well as the creation of an "Amazon label" to promote the sustainable economy.

A Congress against Lula's tide

Lula wants Brazil to become a global example of environmental protection, but this promises to be more complicated than expected: last week, Congress, controlled by conservatives close to the agribusiness industry, significantly weakened the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples and Environment.

MEPs stripped the latter of its powers over the land register - which is essential for monitoring and combating illegal land deforestation. The deputies of the Chamber also adopted a text limiting indigenous lands, and therefore the possibilities of protecting the lands of the Amazon. On Monday, April 5, the Minister of the Environment said that everything would be done to ensure that the implementation of the new plan is not compromised.

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Read on on the same topics:

  • Brazil
  • Climate
  • Climate change
  • Environment
  • Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
  • Amazonia