Global pressure prompts Brazil to create emergency Amazon fund

Brazil is launching an emergency fund for preservation measures in the Amazon rainforest amid the global outcry over increased deforestation and massive wildfires. 

 

On Thursday, the supreme court authorized the release of 1.06bn reais (US$258mn) for the region. 

 

The money comes from a fund created by the authorities with cash from plea bargain deals and leniency agreements with people and companies involved in wrongdoings that were uncovered by the massive corruption probe known as Lava Jato. 

 

The new emergency funding will be used for actions to prevent, monitor and combat deforestation, forest fires and illicit activities in the Amazon, the supreme court said in a statement. 

 

During his election campaign last year and today as president, Jair Bolsonaro has criticized NGOs and the country's environmental regulations for exaggerating the problems in the Amazon, claiming such a stance is bad for the Brazilian economy, which has been very weak for several years.

 

The lax environmental stance by Bolsonaro has been strongly criticized in recent weeks by some prominent international leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, who said the Amazon rainforest is a global and not a sovereign issue. 

 

Despite the global outcry over the Amazon rainforest, the week saw Onyx Lorenzoni, the country's chief of staff, announce that the government would begin regulating mining on indigenous lands, which in many cases are in the Amazon - potentially paving the way for more international criticism.

 

BOYCOTT GROWS 

 

The Amazon crisis has prompted several multinational firms to announce their suspension of the acquisition of raw materials from Brazil in protest at the government's environmental stance, including Norway's largest salmon producer, Mowi and VF Corp, a US holding company and owner of apparel and shoe brands like Timberland, Vans and North Face.

 

Sweden's giant clothing retailer H&M became the latest multilateral to join the boycott, saying on Thursday it had suspended the purchase of leather from Brazil. 

 

"Due to the severe fires in the Brazilian side of the Amazon rainforest and the connections with cattle production, we have decided to temporarily ban the acquisition of leather from Brazil," H&M said in a statement. 

 

"The ban will remain active until credible guarantee systems exist to verify that leather does not contribute to environmental damage in the Amazon," it added.

 

COMBATING ILLEGAL ACTIVITY 

 

State governments in the Amazon region are now stepping up their efforts to crack down on illegal activities in the region. 

 

The week saw the Amazonas state government create a taskforce to combat illegal burning during the independence day (Sep 7) celebrations.

 

Eduardo Taveira, head of the state's environmental secretariat, said it was well known that illegal burning increases during holidays such as independence day since environmental agencies are closed then.