Protecting the Amazon Together (Without Invoking R2P) (original) (raw)
Related papers
Editorial: The legal protection of the Amazon rainforest
Review of European, Comparative and International Environmental Law, 2021
This Special Issue aims to critically evaluate the current legal and institutional frameworks for environmental protection in the Amazon, against the backdrop of increasing deforestation rates, forest fires, and unfavourable political contexts in some of the Amazon countries. In this vein, the contributions to this Special Issue discuss legal pathways that may contribute to the protection of the Amazon. These include (national, regional and international) laws and policies; domestic and international litigation; and market-based mechanisms and private sector initiatives aimed at reducing deforestation and forest degradation. The Special Issue also highlights the challenges related to regional cooperation and forest governance more broadly.
How to save the Amazon: why the forest has more value standing than cut down
V. 12, n. 02, 2020
This paper discusses the importance of the Amazon to the global ecosystem, the reduction and the advance of deforestation of the forest in Brazilian territory, as well as the escalation of environmental crimes, with emphasis on illegal logging, land grabbing and unauthorized mining, including in indigenous lands. The text points to public policies that have been successful in containing the destruction of the forest and the setback they have suffered in recent times. In the final part, the article describes the forest exploitation models adopted so far, with their limited economic social results, and presents an alternative model, which combines the Fourth Industrial Revolution and forest bioeconomy. Finally, the paper also presents contributions that international agents can offer to the preservation of the forest, through financing (REDD+mechanisms), as well as conditionalities formulated by consumer and financing markets.
IPI Global Observatory, 2019
The world is waking-up to the climate emergency. But our prolonged slumber is going to cost us dearly. The latest scientific findings indicate that our planet is approaching multiple "tipping points" that could cause irreversible and catastrophic changes in temperature, ecosystems and biodiversity. One country that could help decisively shape the future of the global climate is Brazil, home to over 40 percent of the world's tropical forests and 20 percent of its fresh water supplies. Once a promising player in environmental conservation, Brazil's stance has changed dramatically as far-right nationalist president, Jair Bolsonaro, and the pro-agriculture and beef lobbies that back him, are convinced that the climate agenda is a conspiracy, driven by hidden interests from abroad. All the while, the forests are burning at rates not seen since 2010. A tricky question facing the international community is how to conserve global public goods such as forests in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia at a time when multilateral cooperation is waning. When it comes to reversing climate change, it is impossible for any one single state to deliver results on their own. Up until now, governments prefer to establish non-binding international agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement or the Kyoto Protocol. Businesses have called for market-based mechanisms intended to reward reductions in greenhouse gases and reforestation efforts. Meanwhile, many environmental and indigenous activists-and a growing number of socially-minded businesses and average citizens-are adamant that it is only through direct actions such as protesting, campaigning, boycotting, and divestment that governments and businesses will agree to reverse anthropogenic climate change.
Strengthening the Legal Framework of Protected Areas in the Amazon to Combat Climate Change
This article discusses the importance of increasing the percentage of protected areas and improving the efficiency of law enforcement in the Amazon rainforest. The Amazon's waters and forests are essential to the global ecosystem, and both global and local climate changes are already having a significant impact on the region, as exemplified in 2023 by reduced precipitation in the region and extremely low levels of rivers like the Rio Negro. Yet, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is increasing, especially in those areas not protected by legal environmental legislation. Therefore, expanding legal protection is crucial for both global climate adaptation and the conservation of the natural and cultural heritage of water systems.
The Amazon from an International Law Perspective
2009
With a vast river network and rainforests extending over eight South American countries, the Amazon plays a vital role particularly in maintaining biodiversity and terrestrial carbon storage. Due to its ecological characteristics, the Amazon benefits not only those countries but also the international community at large. However, the Amazon forests are being rapidly cleared with a consequent loss of biodiversity and impact on global climate. This book examines whether international law has an impact on the preservation of the Amazon by inquiring into the forms of cooperation that exist among the Amazon countries, and between them and the international community, and to what extent international cooperation can help protect the Amazon. Given the role of this region in maintaining the balance of the global environment, the book examines whether the Amazon should be granted a special legal status and possible implications in terms of international cooperation.
Current Research in Environmental Sustainability, 2021
The destruction of the Amazon is a major global environmental issue, not only because of greenhouse gas emissions or direct impacts on biodiversity and livelihoods, but also due to the forest's role as a tipping element in the Earth System. With nearly a fifth of the Amazon already lost, there are already signs of an imminent forest dieback process that risks transforming much of the rainforest into a drier ecosystem, with climatic implications across the globe. There is a large body of literature on the underlying drivers of Amazon deforestation. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the behavioral and institutional microfoundations of change. Fundamental issues concerning cooperation, as well as the mechanisms facilitating or hampering such actions, can play a much more central role in attempts to unravel and address Amazon deforestation. We thus present the issue of preventing the Amazon biome from crossing a biophysical tipping point as a large-scale collective action problem. Drawing from collective action theory, we apply a novel analytical framework on Amazon conservation, identifying six variables that synthesize relevant collective action stressors and facilitators: information, accountability, harmony of interests, horizontal trust, knowledge about consequences, and sense of responsibility. Drawing upon literature and data, we assess Amazon deforestation and conservation through our heuristic lens, showing that while growing transparency has made information availability a collective action facilitator, lack of accountability, distrust among actors, and little sense of responsibility for halting deforestation remain key stressors. We finalize by discussing interventions that can help break the gridlock.