On Thursday afternoon, Presidents Biden and Bolsonaro of Brazil met for the first time, a condition of Bolsonaro’s participation in the Summit. Among other issues, an announcement was made about the Amazonia Connect initiative, through which the U.S. pledged to provide some $12 million to support Brazil, Colombia, and Peru in reducing commodity-driven deforestation.
“International support for the protection of the Amazon is important, even more so at this time. But the problem with the Biden Administration’s announcement is that our challenge in Brazil now is not lack of money. We have millions from the Amazon Fund that are frozen and budgets of environmental agencies reduced or not used by the Bolsonaro Government. If the U.S. sends money to Brazil to protect the Amazon now, it will come to nothing! What we need is pressure on the Brazilian government so that the national policies of environmental management and defense of the territories and Indigenous rights are respected and accomplished, that the democratic institutions created for these purposes can once again do their work, and not be dismantled or derailed from their functions, and that the participation of Indigenous peoples be resumed in all instances of decision-making and control,” said Toya Manchineri, political advisor to the National Indigenous Organization of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB) and Coordinator of Territorial Area and Natural Resources of the Coordinating Body of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA).
Christian Poirier, Amazon Watch Program Director, reacted, “President Biden’s commitment of resources to Amazon protection is a pittance, particularly given the manifold threats the rainforest faces from malicious leaders like Bolsonaro and the disastrous encroachment of extractive industry. U.S. companies, from commodity traders to financial institutions, are complicit in this destruction while Biden offers crumbs to safeguard a cornerstone of global climate stability.”
“Meanwhile, Biden appears to be offering U.S. investments to Brazil’s mining sector, which is among the most egregious drivers of deforestation and human rights abuses in the Amazon today. If the U.S. government was serious about Amazon protection, it would prioritize the needs of forest peoples, not pour resources into industries that threaten the future of the forest.
“Brazil’s adherence to the Renewable Energy in Latin America and the Caribbean initiative is problematic, given that the country seeks to aggressively expand hydroelectric power development in the Amazon under the guise of building clean energy infrastructure. If the recent socio-environmental catastrophe of the Belo Monte mega-dam on the Xingu River is any indication, Brazil cannot be considered a leader in our much-needed global transition to alternative energy sources. Rather, the choice to pursue destructive and outmoded technology like large hydro-power projects in critical Amazonian ecosystems should place the country among the world’s laggards in clean energy policy.”
Sonia Guajajara, General Secretary of the Association of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples, offered the following quote to UOL Noticias: “Biden’s pitiful offer of $12 million to protect the Brazilian, Colombian, and Peruvian Amazon shows the value of Bolsonaro. It is shameful that the United States offers this amount, given the scale of complexities in this region. Since he took power, Bolsonaro destroyed the policies and institutions safeguarding the environment. In only the last three years, Amazon deforestation has increased by 56.6%, which allows us to affirm that the Bolsonaro government is a major enemy of the forest who only sees the region in terms of profit.”
Leila Salazar-López, Amazon Watch Executive Director, shared, “In his opening remarks, President Biden referenced the sacrifices that Brazil as a country has made to protect the Amazon. Indeed the Brazilian people who dedicate their lives to defending the rainforest, like disappeared activist Bruno Pereira, do so at great risk of violence and death. And Bolsonaro is the personification of the economic and political interests that are behind the violence and pushing the Amazon over the ecological tipping point. Biden should have spoken out for Pereria and journalist Dom Phillips by name and for human rights in general.”
Today, Brazilian President Bolsonaro and Ecuadorian President Lasso met, according to Bolsonaro’s public agenda. Axios reports that Lasso has spent his time at the summit attempting to deepen ties with the U.S., particularly around trade. The Ecuadorian president recently pushed through decrees granting the national forces permission to use excessive force during civil society mobilizations. These types of decrees have been used to quell Indigenous dissent as they resist incursions and extraction into their territories.
Responding to the discussions between Presidents Bolsonaro of Brazil and Lasso of Ecuador, Kevin Koenig, Climate and Energy Director at Amazon Watch, stated, “Presidents Lasso and Bolsonaro hold the fate of the Amazon in their hands. But their policies aren’t protecting it, they’re driving destruction. In both countries, commodity-driven deforestation and contamination are ravaging the forests and rivers and violating the rights of the Indigenous peoples who depend on them. Their failure to act is pushing the Amazon to a dangerous tipping point of no return. Any talk of renewable energy aspirations from either of these short-sighted leaders that doesn’t come with commitments to restrict extraction and protect the rights of peoples under attack for doing the real work to protect the Amazon is meaningless. The world should not be fooled by them.”
Yesterday, activists from Stand.earth and Amazon Watch deployed two massive 50’x40′ banners on the Queensway Bridge in Long Beach to demand Summit of the Americas’ leaders take action to stop the imminent expansion of Amazon oil drilling (photos and video are available here).
