23 September 2014 Last updated at 20:42 ET

Brazil refuses to join pledge to end deforestation

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon can be caused by large-scale farming

Brazil has refused to sign up to a pact setting a deadline for ending

deforestation entirely by 2030.
The US, Canada and European Union nations were among 30 states that agreed
to halve forest loss by 2020 and work towards a 2030 goal.
But Brazil, which owns the largest continuous rainforest on the planet, refused to
sign because it could contravene national law.
UN officials said they hoped the pact would be adopted in 2015.
The Brazilian environment minister, Isabella Teixeira told Associated Press,
"unfortunately, we were not consulted. "
"But I think that it's impossible to think that you can have a global forest initiative
without Brazil on board. It doesn't make sense."
The minister said her government was concerned the new resolution could clash
with Brazil's national laws, which allow for managed felling.
She said Brazil had set its own goal of slowing the pace of deforestation to 3,900
sq km (1,500 square miles) annually by 2020.
That would be down from about 5,843 sq km (2,256 square miles) in the period
August 2012-July 2013, when Brazil made its last satellite survey.
Ms Teixeira made it clear that Brazil was committed to protecting the Amazon
rainforest - considered a key natural defence against climate change because of
its capacity of absorbing huge amounts of carbon dioxide.
The signatories also promised to restore more than 1 million sq miles (2.6 million
sq km) of forest worldwide.
Norway vowed to spend $350m (215m) to protect forests in Peru, with another
$100m in Liberia.

Matias Balboa
POS200
Guilherme A. Silva
12/09/14
Analytical Journal Brazil refuses to join pledge to end deforestation

What is Deforestation? Deforestation is a serious environmental problem; it is

about clearing Earth's forests on a massive scale, often resulting in damage to the quality
of the land, soil erosion, disrupted water cycle, climate control and other effects. It has
been calculated that every year there are about 12-15 million hectares of forest lost each,
which is equivalent to 36 football fields per minute. Deforestation is considered to be one
of the contributing factors for global climate change. Trees absorb greenhouse gases and
carbon emissions. They produce oxygen and perpetuate the water cycle by releasing
water vapor into the atmosphere. Without trees, forestlands can quickly become sterile
land.

Why is Brazil an important player on deforestation? Because it holds about onethird of the world's remaining rainforests, including a majority of the Amazon rainforest.
Brazil terrestrially speaking, it is also the most biodiversity country on Earth, with more
than 56,000 described species of plants, 1,700 species of birds, 695 amphibians, 578
mammals, and 651 reptiles. The amazon also Covers about 40% of the South American
continent and includes parts of eight countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia,
Venezuela are some of them.

What are the methods? Methods of deforestation include but are not limited to
burning and removing trees. The main purpose for this is to make more housing spaces
as well as more urbanized areas and constructions. Deforestation can also be made for
creating more farming soil and ranching.

The Main problem of deforestation is not that people is taking away millenaries
tree in the amazon if not that there is no replacement anywhere else for this trees. The
amazon is considered the green lungs of the world able to provide clean air and oxygen
for living creatures, but humans are abusing of this privilege constantly.

This Article talks about how the biggest owner of the amazon declined an
initiative to end deforestation by 2030 because of the Brazilian law. While other majors
players in the world are concern about this huge environmental issue affecting not only
Brazilian population if not the entire globe. Brazil closes it self in a selfish perspective of
the environment when saying that because it could be out of the Brazilian law they can
not sign to work together toward the goal of reducing the deforestation. Although
Brazilian government is currently working on reducing the amount of deforestation their
effort is way below what other countries are asking this should be.

The discussion was hold in the United Nations and supported by some countries
that are concern about the deforestation. United States, Canada and some European
countries wanted to propose to end up deforestation by 2030, but Brazil refused to sign
because it could contravene national law. What can we do if Brazilian Environment
minister privileges national regulations over the common wealth? Should other countries
have the right to intervene on Brazilian territory or we should try to get Brazil on board

before is too late? Mrs. Teixeira Stated I think that it's impossible to think that you can
have a global forest initiative without Brazil on board. It doesn't make sense. And as
she said it does really not make sense being them the ones who actually control the
territory.

I ask my self what is the true behind this issue, is it because they dont want other
countries messing up with their territory? Because this will be completely reasonable to
think, but there are other solutions to this problem.
Why Brazil does not want to join this cause? Is it because of the law as Mrs. Teixeira said
The minister said her government was concerned the new resolution could clash with
Brazil's national laws, which allow for managed felling. or is it because of the economic
purpose considering that vast quantities of commodities are produced in the amazon, such
as leather, timber, soy, oil, gas and minerals that are being exported to china, Europe and
the US.

Considering the Economics as the primary reason should we put money before life or
should we intervene through the intergovernmental organizations? The truth is that if we
do not start changing our policies we will see how faster than we think we will be involve
in the so called tragedy of the commons in which one country will be benefitting from
something that everyone should do.

The amazon should be concern for everyone and not only for Brazilians because
it represents one of the major barriers against climate change for this reason Protecting

the Amazon, which contains the largest tropical rainforest on the planet, is critical to our
planet's climate stability. This rainforest serves as one of Earth's largest reservoirs of
carbon dioxide, helping regulate global climate patterns. By absorbing about 20 percent
of the atmospheric carbon emitted by the burning of fossil fuels, the world's tropical
rainforests can help mitigate climate change substantially. It is also a huge reserve of
water, which plays a fundamental role in regulating the global and regional climate.

The Amazon rainforest has long been recognized as a place for local tribes and
communities, and also for the rest of the world. It is also the only rainforest that we have
left in terms of size and diversity and we are going to lose it before we think it will
happens.