The leading candidates strongly disagree about the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. The election will decide whether we will start fighting forest destruction or let it continue. In the worst case scenario, the Amazon rainforests are on the road to drying out and atrophying.
In the world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon in Brazil, the worst forest fires in 15 years are raging.
Illegal land grabbers set fires to clear the forest for cattle grazing and soy plantations.
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One of the biggest reasons for the devastating forest fires has been the reluctance of President Bolsonaro’s administration to protect the environment: the country’s economy is growing at the expense of the Amazon rainforest.
Bolsanaro’s term of office is coming to an end, as presidential elections will be held in Brazil in October.
The election is a fateful moment for Brazil’s rainforests.
– These elections are really important for the future of the entire planet, says Kröger.
– Elections have a very big impact. If Lula wins, there is a chance to significantly improve Amazon’s situation. If Bolsonaro wins, the situation will get even worse, downright catastrophic, says Kröger.
Currently, according to polls, a much larger share of Brazilians support Lula as president than Bolsonaro. In Kröger’s opinion, it shows that Brazil is concerned about the environment.
One of Lula’s election promises is the establishment of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples. According to Kröger, this could be of great importance for the protection of rainforests, because even now most of the best-preserved rainforest areas are under the control of indigenous peoples.
– Lula is on the opposite line in environmental matters than Bolsonaro, but Lula hasn’t presented a terribly innovative policy either. Most likely, they would continue on the same lines as during Lula’s previous reign, says Kröger.
At that time, i.e. 2003–2011, it was possible to reduce the destruction of rainforests by 70 percent. According to Kröger, the means were harsh, for example direct attacks on the perpetrators of illegal logging.
Now, eradicating illegal logging and forest fires is much more difficult, when land grabbers have already advanced so deep and wide into the rainforest, Kröger estimates.
Bolsonaro has wide support, especially in areas of deforestation. These states are therefore likely to become controlled by the Bolsonarians, in which case the governors supported by him will be in power there. It makes it difficult to control deforestation, even if Lula wins the presidential election.
Illegal gold mining also causes deforestation. In addition, the mercury used in the separation of gold corrodes rivers and accumulates in both fish and people living downstream. Another of Lula’s election themes is to intervene in this.
– Gold diggers are mafias that kill indigenous peoples and cause really bad environmental problems in rainforests, Kröger says.
After the tipping point, the rainforest starts to dry out
If 20-25 percent of the original area of the Amazon is destroyed, a critical tipping point will be reached, according to numerous studies. Then the rainforest is no longer able to produce its own rains, but the water cycle is disrupted. In this case, the rainforest starts to dry out and slowly become a savanna.
Now, an estimated 17–19 percent of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed, so we are close to a critical point.
– It does not mean that it will suddenly turn into a desert or a savannah. It starts to dry at the edges.
According to the most recent IPCC report, the probability that the surge would occur during this century is small.
According to studies, the same tipping point will also occur if the climate warms by an average of four degrees or more.
About half of our planet’s tropical forests are in the Amazon. They are important for biodiversity, the water and carbon cycle, and the climate.
The Amazon rainforest affects the entire Earth’s climate. Rainforests produce rain for the entire South American region. If the rains are lost, it will have big effects on food production both regionally and more widely.
– The distribution of rain in South America has already changed. It is not only caused by deforestation, but also by climate change. Together, these may lead to drier conditions, says Kröger.
The reason is that the Amazon forests produce their own rain in a way. When moist air from the Atlantic meets trees, it rains down, the trees evaporate it again into the upper air, from where it rains down again.
Climate change will accelerate if rainforests are lost.
A quarter of the carbon stock of the world’s forests is tied up in Brazil’s rainforests. They are a huge carbon sink that absorbs our emissions from the atmosphere.
What to do?
In the past, similar declarations have not brought real results. It was easy for the president of Brazil to sign the declaration because it authorizes the continuation of deforestation for the next ten years.
The second year was supposed to be a turning point in the protection of tropical forests, but their decline only accelerated.
So what could be done to preserve vital forests?
In addition to the possible change of the Brazilian president, Kröger considers intervention in international trade to be the best ways to protect rainforests.
– In the same way, raw materials that are linked to forest destruction can no longer be bought there. Above all, this applies to feed, i.e. soy and corn.
Kröger would also boycott pulp made from eucalyptus, as well as minerals such as iron and gold and beef.
According to him, it is important to influence Finland through the EU. For example, in his opinion, the Mercosur trade agreement should be left unratified.
– The attitude must change, where forests can be sacrificed so that all merchandise can flow as it pleases, says Kröger.
In Kröger’s opinion, large retail chains do not follow enough where their products come from.
– They should create audit systems themselves, where they go to the premises, he says.
According to Kröger, the current auditing systems do not work.
– In the current systems, we buy the result we want. Consulting firms receive a fee from these firms, so there is no incentive to create a critical analysis, says Kröger.
According to him, the costs of product responsibility and traceability are small compared to the income of shopping centers.
– They should put pressure on big companies that do international trade, that sell products, that they also have their own audit systems in order, says Kröger.
It is also worth looking at which products to buy and which not to.
– We should invest in products that keep the forest standing there, for example nuts, products made from fruit, natural cosmetics, and not products that rely on cutting down forests, Kröger says.
