Policing, such as this seizure of illegally cut timber by Ibama, Brazil’s environmental-enforcement agency, is a prime focus of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s anti-deforestation plan. (Photo courtesy of Felipe Werneck/Ibama)
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva this month launched a bold effort to combat Amazon deforestation, winning widespread applause from environmental experts. At the same time, though, the country’s right-leaning Congress forced the left-of-center president to accept a measure that in two key respects could make it harder for his administration to accomplish its ambitious net-zero deforestation goals. The four-year plan, unveiled on June 5, is called Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm). It aims to reverse the dramatic surge in rainforest clearing that occurred under Lula’s predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, whose right-wing administration scaled back environmental regulation and enforcement. The overarching goal is to ensure net-zero deforestation in Brazil’s portion of the Amazon region as of 2030 by curbing illegal deforestation and replanting native vegetation to offset clearing of woodlands that takes place within... [Log in to read more]
