While deforestation in the Amazon causes more than US$1 billion a year in losses to Brazilian agriculture for the next three decades, its conservation could guarantee income. The warning comes from FAO, which highlights how “significant” deforestation in Brazil is in its annual report on the state of forests around the world.
The report comes at a time when governments and organizations are looking for ways to meet their commitments to the care of forests.
But the results go against the theses of the government of Jair Bolsonaro, which insists that protected areas should be turned into areas of economic exploitation. During the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow at the end of 2021, Brazilian Environment Minister Joaquim Leite went so far as to say that where there is a lot of forest, there is a lot of poverty.
According to the FAO, forest conservation models can coexist with poverty reduction.
The business highlights how forests cover 4.06 billion hectares, which accounts for 31% of the world’s land surface. “But that area is shrinking, particularly in the tropics,” the report says. “The FAO Global Assessment of Forest Resources estimates that 420 million hectares of forest were deforested (converted to other land uses) between 1990 and 2020,” it states.
“Although the rate has decreased over the period, deforestation was still estimated at 10 million hectares per year, or about 0.25%, in 2015-2020,” he explains.
This deforestation was not accompanied by reforestation and natural expansion of forest, which is estimated at around 5 million hectares per year over the same period.
The three combined countries – Brazil, Canada and Russia – are home to more than half (61%) of the world’s primary forests.
Canada and Russia reported very low levels of deforestation between 1990 and 2020, according to the FAO. “Despite the overall reduction in deforestation, Brazil has experienced significant forest loss since 1990, including primary forests,” the FAO warned.
profits and losses
The FAO report highlights how different studies have shown how deforestation in Brazil will have a negative impact on farmers’ profits in the country for years to come, while conservation can generate income.
“Precipitation due to deforestation in the Amazon south of Brazil can cause agricultural losses, such as declines in soybean and livestock production – that could be worth more than US$1 billion a year between now and 2050,” says FAO.
In presenting this issue, the business cites a study by the Federal University of Minas Gerais, the Federal University of Viçosa and the University of Bonn (Germany). Researchers Argemiro Teixeira Leite Filho, Britaldo Silveira Soares Filho, Juliana Leroy Davis, Gabriel Medeiros Abrahão and Jan Börner participated in the evaluation.
Various studies have shown that increased productivity of farmland and livestock, combined with appropriate public and market policies, can help stabilize the forest boundary in the Brazilian Amazon, according to the FAO.
Indeed, the agency is credited with the more than 80% reduction in deforestation achieved in Brazil between 2004 and 2014, changes in government policies (eg soy and livestock) and market conditions.
The organization also insists that conserving the forest makes economic sense for the country, and that protecting one hectare, according to research, will guarantee an annual income of $800 in the Brazilian Amazon.
“The opportunity cost of forest protection over agricultural income from deforested lands is an important factor in assessing the potential of tools designed to add value to forests,” he says.
Using census and deforestation data for municipalities in the Brazilian Legal Amazon, a 2018 study by Figueiredo Silva and other researchers estimated the price of deforestation reduction in terms of lost farm income minus US$797/ha of forest per year agricultural GDP.
Indigenous people and small farmers: the key to conservation
According to FAO, the world will not be able to promote a healthy economy on an unhealthy planet. “Environmental degradation contributes to climate change, loss of biodiversity and the emergence of new diseases. Forests and trees can play crucial roles in confronting these crises and moving towards sustainable economies,” he says.
According to the business, three roads involving forests and trees can support economic and environmental recovery. These
(1) stop deforestation and protect forests;
(2) restoring degraded lands and expanding agroforestry; and
(3) to use forests in a sustainable way and to create green value chains.
“Due to the growing population and the need to reduce environmental impacts, the world will need more renewable materials. The forestry sector can and should enable the transition to the use of more efficient and circular biomaterials with higher added value,” he says.
FAO also argues that more incentives should be given to forestry and agricultural producers to increase green recovery.
But achieving the three proposed paths will require changes in public policy.
“Policy changes are needed to divert financial flows from actions that damage forests and to encourage investments in conservation, restoration and sustainable use,” he said.
To meet climate neutrality, biodiversity and land degradation targets, funding for the three forest roads needs to triple to at least $200 billion per year by 2030, the assessment said.
One of the bets will be smallholders, local communities and Indigenous peoples. Together they own or manage about half of the world’s forest and farmland – 4.35 billion hectares – and will be “crucial for expanding the application of roads” proposed by the FAO.
By one estimate, smallholders on such land earn up to $1.29 trillion in annual gross income. “Currently there are more than 8.5 million producer organizations to help local actors participate and support a green recovery.”
source: Noticias
