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ELECTION SPECIAL : What do the October 3rd Elections Mean for the Forest Code?

Now that you know everything you ever wanted to know about the Forest Code (and then some), you’re probably wondering why we’ve chose to write so much about these reform proposals that took place back in July.

Great question. (insert pat on the back here)

In order for the Forest Code to be changed, ( ie the reforms to pass) – it would first have to go through  the full Chamber of Deputies. Following that, because Brazil has a bicameral legislature (2 houses, like the US) the Senate would also need to vote it through. If these reforms pass through both houses of the legislature this reform would then come to President Lula for approval. However, he is not currently up for reelection as the Constitution prevents him from running for a 3^rd term in the upcoming October 3rd presidential and national elections.

The post-election lame-duck session would make it difficult for Lula to oppose this reform bill, especially if pro-agricultural and anti-Forest Code advocates pick up seats in the legislature. Therefore the future of the Code may very well be in the hands of Lula’s successor, who based on polls, increasingly looks like it may be Dilma Rousseff.

If Dilma wins the Presidency this Sunday (October 3^rd), what could this mean for the Amazon? If this reform manages to pass through the Houses and falls on her plate, would she sign it through?

Photo: Valter Campanato/ABr Wikimedia Commons

Dilma Rousseff alongside President Lula

The Brazilian Forest Code, and Ruralistas, and Reforms! Oh my!

Buckle up Folks : This is a long post, but definitely worth a read.

Remember how yesterday we promised we tell you more about the Brazilian Forest Code and why there were proposals to change it? Well here it is….

Brazil’s Forest Code   aka : Código Florestal

Brazil’s Forest Code (Código Florestal) was first drafted in 1934 and amended into its more recent form in 1965; it is a very large and complicated piece of legistlation which very simply is : a range of rules relating to forests and land use. It tells farmers what they can and can’t do with their land, what they need to preserve forever, and what they need to keep covered by forests/trees but can be used in a ‘sustainable’ way. The objective is to protect the forests, but at the same time, allow for agricultural production.

The Code became even more useful in 1988, when the new Brazilian Constitution gave force to federal and state environmental agencies, by allowing them to regulate and enforce these laws more effectively. This brings us to 2010, where the Forest Code is considered to be one of the world’s most progressive forest policies. Can we credit it with protecting the rainforest, and the massive drop in Brazilian deforestation rates from a ten-year high of 2.7 million hectares in 2004, to 0.70 million hectares by 2009? Well not exactly – there are a whole range of factors like commodity prices reducing the incentives to deforest and developing  improved methods of  forest monitoring. But the bottom line is, without the Forest Code, deforestation would be going on, consequence free!

Why change a good thing?

However, for several years, there has been a push to change the Code, because many have said that in order to increase crop production more land is needed, and therefore more trees will have to be cut down. The bloc of Brazilian legislatures, more commonly known as the Ruralistas, argue that if they cannot produce more crops to meet the demand, they will not be able to compete with other countries globally AND feed their own people.

Environmentalists, meanwhile, argue that by cutting these forests down, you are not only destroying the environment, but when these trees are cut, this releases large amounts of carbon dioxide into the air which then causes extreme climate patterns and has other very harmful effects on the environment. One study conducted at the University of Sao Paulo says the current Code, still permits landowners to cut down another 104 million hectares  (enough land to double crop production) and yet still expand the country’s large cattle pastures by 20%.  Others argue that agricultural intensification would allow for significant increases in food production without chopping a single tree down. These estimates and figures, while they cannot be proven to the last decimal point, should be recognized for what they are: potential solutions which allow Brazil to increase its production while at the same time ensuring more land is not unnecessarily deforested.

  So the debate around this reform is not so much a question of right versus wrong, because farming and forests are equally important to Brazil. Instead we need to look at how to balance these two interests. However, environmentalists argue that the Code already did this, and that this new “relaxation” of rules is tilting the balance all the way to the side of the farmers; and if this reform passes, it will then allow for shocking levels of deforestation and environmental harm to take place.

Let’s take a look at a few of these 11 changes and their effects:

• The new amendment will pardon individuals guilty of illegal logging on 40+ million hectares of savannah and forested areas in the Amazon region which happened prior to 1996.  This would effectively pardon 14.6 billion tons of illegally emitted carbon dioxide – all of which should arguably be punished.
• There are a lot of areas of forest in Brazil which are in “legal reserves”, which means they cannot be touched. However, in this amendment, this requirement is not as strong. This means around 70 million hectares of land would no longer be protected.  (This is about the size of Texas!) Consider that up until 2010, a total of 73 million hectares have been lost in Brazilian forests!
• As a result of this forest loss, about 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide could be released into the atmosphere. (This is 15 times the amount of carbon dioxide China emits in 1 year!)

“Now what?” you might be asking. I know all of this information about the Forest Code, but what do I do with it? Well for starters, you are definitely going to want to  stay tuned. With the Brazilian elections happening THIS WEEKEND, whoever wins will definitely have a say as to whether these dramatic reforms to Brazil’s Forest Code will pass!

Brazilian Elections are October 3rd. What does this mean for the Amazon?

  

With the Brazilian elections rapidly approaching, (October 3^rd, mark your calendars!), the legislative proposal to relax the current Brazilian Forest code (Codigo Floresteal) has proved to be a key issue in electoral debates.  Certian NGOs and environmental institutions have joined forces to set up the website SOS Florestas in order to call for a debate about these proposed forestry code reforms. Candidates (Dilma Rousseff, José Serra, Marina Silva, and Plinio Soares de Arruda Sampaio) have been asked to respond to 7 questions concerning Brazilian environmental policy, which try to determine their relative stances on forest conservation, development, and how they see the balance between the two. But what exactly is this “new forestry code”? And how has it come into the spotlight in the months preceding this weekend’s elections? 

On July 6^th a special congressional commission in Brazil, approved a proposal which essentially “relaxes” the Brazilian Forest Code. This not only threw a spotlight on Brazil’s policies regarding agriculture and development, particularly in the Amazon Forest, but stirred up tension between those who strongly support agricultural expansion, and those who favor forest conservation. Although it may be an oversimplification, the debate boiled down to the question : Do we relax the Forest Code to allow for even more land to be available for farming, or do we continue using the existing Forest Code?

 But before you can even begin to answer this question, I think a little background is necessary: What exactly is this Forest Code? And why is it under so much debate? 

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post, and your questions will be answered!  

  

Dam Watch : Belo Monte part 1

Have you ever watched Avatar? (do you really need a link?)

What about A Message from Pandora ?

 So what do these films have in common? :

• both are directed by James Cameron, (in addition to Titanic, Terminator, Alien, we could go on….)
• both recognize the value of preserving diverse ecosystems, and
• both document the struggles of  Indigenous Peoples  defending their homeland 

But only the latter film is true.  And only this latter film outlines a problem about which YOU can make your voice heard.  

While it does not require 3-D glasses for optimal viewing, what this 3 minute film does do is make the viewer aware of the effects building the Belo Monte (pronounced BAY-LOW  MON-CHE)  Dam Complex will have on not only the local Amazonian people, but the surrounding rainforest ecosystem as well.

This is a very current story, and new developments are unfolding daily. We here at Forest Justice are going to try and keep you updated on the struggle to protect the Amazon.

Agriculture: Primary Driver of Deforestation for 20 years

So let’s start with this mind blowing statistic brought to us by a recent study by Stanford researcher Holly Gibbs:

 Over the 20 years between 1980 and 2000, more than half a million square miles of new farmland was created in the developing world.            

                         

 Of this land, over 80% was carved out of tropical forests! So over these 20 years, rainforests were the primary source for new agricultural land !

So what have Gibbs and her team of researchers added to this debate? With the aid of Landsat (Satellite-based maps provided by NASA) technology, they have mapped and quantified which types of land have been replaced by this immense area of new farmland. And what was by far, the majority type of  land taken over for farming?  That’s right, tropical rainforests.

But what do these numbers mean to us today? This has all happened in the past, so why is this study so currently relevant? And what could this mean for forests in the future?  Well, recent data shows past trends are continuing.

Also, there are various studies suggesting different scenarios, but let’s look at recent figures released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). They have estimated that because demand is predicted to grow (due to population growth, change in consumer habits, etc.) global agricultural production will also need to increase. This increase will require more land to be cleared for agriculture. How much more? They estimate approximately 10  billion hectares by 2050! (This figure is more than double the current land base) 

While there are very clearly so many variables which can affect this figure, what we should all realize is that if this trend identified by Gibbs continues, the increased demand will be a threat to millions of additional acres of tropical forest. Meeting this demand without destroying forests will be an enormous challenge.

If at First you don’t succeed at Deforesting a Nation, Try, Try, Try Again (elsewhere)

Burger King, General Mills, Unilever, Nestle, and Kraft

What do these corporations have in common? They are just a few of the buyers of palm oil, who have begun shunning Sinar Mas in light of their alleged poor environmental track record, in a move that will hopefully increase pressure on other corporate buyers of palm oil products. 

 And now nations are taking a stand with the aim of preserving their environmental integrity — most notably Indonesia.

rows in an oil palm plantation

 With the help of a $1 billion preservation grant from the government of Norway,  just two months ago, Indonesia announced its plan to impose a 2 year moratorium on future expansion in peatland and natural forest conversion. This move  would effectively limit permits to clear forest for oil palm cultivation starting in 2011.

In response to this, Sinar Mas’ Singapore palm oil producer, Golden Agriculture Resources’ has made plans to jet off to Liberia, so that they can continue their unsustainable and environmentally destructive practices by working with their local subsidiary, Golden VerOleum. Under this $1.6 billion partnership, and 25-year concession, they would control 220,000 hectares of land in Liberia. That’s over three times the size of Singapore!

The official press statement has boasted that it will help small farmers practice sustainable planting and create 35,000+ jobs. So what’s the cause for alarm? Sinar Mas continues to face sustained pressure from groups, namely Greenpeace, who have accused them of continued widespread deforestation and clearing of carbon-rich peatlands which not only contributes to global warming but also destroys the habitat of many endangered species.

See this image provided courtesy of Greenpeace to get a better idea of the type of forest destruction Liberia could now be facing if Sinar Mas practices business as usual there.

Rooting for the Amazon!

Photo: Rachel Kramer/NWF

This weekend in Washington, DC World Cup fans rooted for the Amazon rainforest at a showing of the USA v England game in Dupont Circle! Check out more pics on Flickr.

Join the U.S. National Team’s Defender Jonathan Spector in supporting NWF’s TEAM AMAZON!

Visit www.nwf.org/worldcup today to sign NWF’s petition and show your support for Deforestation-Free Leather products.

Resources:

• Root for companies that ‘play fair’ – Join NWF’s TEAM AMAZON!
• Follow the FIFA World Cup with NWF on Facebook
• Learn more about the Amazon-World Cup connection
• NWF International - Protecting Forests in Unlikely Places
• NWF’s Climate Change, Deforestation and Agriculture Project

Join TEAM AMAZON–Support Leather that’s Deforestation-Free

Root for rainforests during this year’s FIFA World Cup June 11-July 11!

Join National Wildlife Federation’s TEAM AMAZON and show your support for cleats, balls, apparel and other leather products that are deforestation-free. Stay involved–follow the 2010 World Cup with the National Wildlife Federation on Twitter and Facebook!

Resources: 

• Root for companies that ‘play fair’ – Join NWF’s TEAM AMAZON!
• Follow the FIFA World Cup with NWF on Facebook
• Learn more about the Amazon-World Cup connection
• NWF International - Protecting Forests in Unlikely Places
• NWF’s Climate Change, Deforestation and Agriculture Project

Join TEAM AMAZON on Facebook!

Join TEAM AMAZON, National Wildlife Federation – International’s NEW! Facebook page.

Get updates on the 2010 FIFA World Cup games and learn more about how NWF & World Cup sponsors are showing deforestation the red card!

www.nwf.org/worldcup — COMING SOON!

The Amazon Connection

Check out National Wildlife Federation’s latest video clip to learn more about the connection between the Amazon rainforest and products we use each day!

An area of rainforest as large as the state of Texas has been cleared in Brazil’s Amazon and is now used for cattle pasture, making cattle expansion the largest driver of deforestation on the planet. Beef, leather and other cattle products make it into items we use, eat and wear each day. But solutions exist! Visit www.nwf.org/deforestation to find out more…

Related Resources: 

• National Wildlife Federation Climate Change, Deforestation and Agriculture Project
• Follow NWF International on Twitter and Facebook!