Eduardo Schneider Lersch
Tranlation: Ligia Payão Chizolini
Even those who hadn’t been following the worsening environmental degradation in the country could notice some of its consequences, such as the smoke from record-breaking fires seen in recent months in regions like the Cerrado, Pantanal, and Amazon. The increase in wildfires occurred at a time when deforestation rates were actually declining, but fires were exacerbated by climate fluctuations, the El Niño phenomenon, drought, and deliberate criminal actions. The result was a record level of burned areas since historical data began being recorded.
These fires are often intended to facilitate land grabbing, as new fires clear areas for illegal farms and pastures, perpetuating this cycle. Fires in the Pantanal alone have consumed 2.3 million hectares, over 15% of the entire biome this year alone. Political leaders only began acting and voicing stronger positions when the smoke from these and other fires reached Brasília. This led to the enactment of Law 14.944/2024, establishing a national integrated fire management policy, after more than half a decade of deliberation.
Could the government or specific economic sectors be held responsible for this reality? The answer seems complex. Responsibility should indeed be pursued against individuals and groups who coordinated criminal fires. Any state response, however, will likely encounter obstacles when seeking reparations for the damage or imposing penalties on the perpetrators. These actions represent systemic environmental devastation, a serious and genuine ecocide that should be treated as such. However, precedents indicate that impunity remains the norm in such cases.
In 2019, an action coordinated by landowners in several states resulted in a series of fires known as the "Day of Fire." Apparently influenced by the rhetoric of then-president Jair Bolsonaro, the goal was to expand land for agribusiness. More than a decade later, no criminal convictions have resulted, and despite more than 1 billion reais in fines imposed by IBAMA, less than 50 million have been paid to date. Unlike 2019, however, hundreds of people were arrested or detained for involvement in fires in 2024. It is hoped that investigations will lead to concrete consequences for offenders and property owners where significant portions of the fires originated.
The current Lula administration seeks to present itself as a stark contrast to Jair Bolsonaro’s, particularly on environmental issues. After the 2022 elections, an environmental degradation legacy remained, with laws and administrative measures from what has aptly been called an "authoritarian infralegalism," directly stemming from the Bolsonaro administration and its political base.
According to a study by the NGO “Política por Inteiro,” 401 acts by the federal executive branch related to climate and environmental issues needed revocation or review. Many have been, such as the symbolic Provisional Measure 1.150/2022, one of the last from the Bolsonaro administration, which weakened protections for the Atlantic Forest and was further undermined during its course in Congress.
Interestingly, Lula’s current government coalition includes many of the same parties and blocs that once allied with Bolsonaro, relying on "co-optation" presidentialism, which functions through parliamentary amendments in an increasingly demanding Congress. Initially, it appeared that the government could skillfully negotiate in this new paradigm. Vetoes were upheld on bills that weakened environmental protections, and the technical team at the Ministry of the Environment resisted despite pressures from powerful lobbies in Congress and even within the government.
But, as with the climate crisis, the situation deteriorated, and the government gradually prioritized the environmental agenda less. True calamities spread throughout this year, with record fires in the Pantanal and Amazon, an increase in extractive activities by miners, loggers, and land grabbers. The environmental disaster in Rio Grande do Sul remains a political dispute between the federal and state governments, lacking coordinated measures among municipal, state, and federal authorities.
It’s difficult to attribute state neglect as in the previous federal administration, but progress has fallen short of expectations. Some results were certainly exacerbated by institutional challenges, such as the prolonged strike of environmental workers from IBAMA, ICMBio, and the Ministry of the Environment, which only ended in August 2024 after more than a year of negotiations. The impact was significant: enforcement data show that between January and April 2023, 2,161 infraction notices were issued, but only 389 in the same period in 2024, a decrease of approximately 82%.
The correlation between worsening environmental degradation in Brazil is directly linked to this combination of factors: the general strike of environmental workers, lack of prioritization within the Lula administration, zero priority for environmental issues in Congress, temperature fluctuations aggravated by the climate crisis, and increased environmental crimes.
On August 27, 2024, Minister Flávio Dino ordered the deployment of more security forces to contain fires in the Amazon and Pantanal as part of the context of ADPFs 743, 746, and 857. Decisions like this were more frequent during Bolsonaro’s tenure and illustrate the current government’s situation. Moreover, the state’s institutions must address what to do with the devastated land. The state could consider appropriating these lands to prevent land grabbing and further exploitation by those responsible for the destruction. However, there are legal controversies over this, as it could affect land owned by legitimate holders who were not involved in the fires, although the public interest should take precedence.
Logistics is another issue. After appropriation, the state needs to invest resources to maintain these lands. Actions are necessary to prevent desertification, restore fauna and flora, and regenerate ecosystems, requiring resources, willingness, and priority on the environmental agenda—objectives distant from Brasília’s current political paradigm.
Similarly, the current government does not seem to prioritize protecting Indigenous populations and environmental defenders. The Escazú Agreement, which addresses expanding protections for these vulnerable groups, access to environmental justice, and other coordinated measures for integrated environmental protection, has yet to be ratified by Congress, although Brazil signed it in 2018. Brazil is one of the deadliest countries for environmental defenders, and the Escazú Agreement would provide an additional instrument for consolidating international standards of human rights protection in our domestic institutional framework.
Furthermore, the current administration has created a data blackout on the situation of the Yanomami tribes, who remain impacted by malnutrition, disease, and criminal enterprises within their Indigenous territories. This case is under the watch of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which has already recommended the adoption of measures to improve the protection of this Indigenous tribe.
It’s essential to remain attentive to the mixed signals from the current administration, which claims to be democratic and concerned with advancing the environmental and climate agenda but increasingly demonstrates through public and private actions that it does not exactly share these values. As Brazil confronts the crises and critical issues outlined in this essay, it is imperative to align political rhetoric with actionable environmental policies to make significant progress in addressing the climate and ecological crises.
REFERENCES
[1] PODER360. Brazil ends September with 83,157 fire outbreaks. Available at: https://www.poder360.com.br/poder-sustentavel/brasil-encerra-setembro-com-83-157-focos-de-incendio/. Accessed on: Sept. 27, 2024.
[2] BRAZIL. Lula's response to drought and fires hindered by lack of coordination, funding, structure, and Congress. Folha de S.Paulo, Sept. 20, 2024. Available at: https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ambiente/2024/09/resposta-de-lula-a-seca-e-fogo-esbarra-em-desarticulacao-verba-estrutura-e-congresso.shtml?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=twfolha. Accessed on: Sept. 27, 2024.
[3] BRAZIL. Law No. 14,944, of April 4, 2024. Regulates the National Climate Adaptation Policy and amends Law No. 12,305, of August 2, 2010. Available at: https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2023-2026/2024/lei/L14944.htm. Accessed on: Sept. 27, 2024.
[4] ESTADÃO. Brazil is on fire: who is to blame and what to do. Available at: https://www.estadao.com.br/politica/blog-do-fausto-macedo/o-brasil-pega-fogo-de-quem-e-a-culpa-e-o-que-fazer/. Accessed on: Sept. 27, 2024.
[5] FOLHA DE S.PAULO. "Fire Day" of 2019 goes unpunished and farms continued to report fires. Available at: https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ambiente/2024/09/dia-do-fogo-de-2019-fica-impune-e-fazendas-seguiram-registrando-incendios.shtml#:~:text=Dia%20do%20fogo%20fica%20impune,09%2F2024%20-%20Ambiente%20-%20Folha. Accessed on: Sept. 27, 2024.
[6] FOLHA DE S.PAULO. At least 221 people have already been detained in Brazil due to fires. Available at: https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/cotidiano/2024/09/ao-menos-221-pessoas-ja-foram-detidas-no-pais-por-causa-de-queimadas.shtml?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=comptw. Accessed on: Sept. 27, 2024.
[7] FOLHA DE S.PAULO. Government considers provisional measure to prevent land grabbing on fire-affected lands. Available at: https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ambiente/2024/09/governo-estuda-medida-provisoria-para-barrar-grilagem-de-terras-atingidas-por-fogo.shtml. Accessed on: Sept. 27, 2024.
[8] VIEIRA, O. V. et al. Supreme Court and authoritarian sub-regulations: the behavior of the Supreme Federal Court during the Bolsonaro administration. Novos Estudos CEBRAP [online]. 2022, v. 41, n. 3.
[9] POLÍTICA POR INTEIRO. Reconstruction Report: Proposals for a national environmental and climate policy. Available at: https://www.politicaporinteiro.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Relatorio-Reconstrucao.pdf. Accessed on: Sept. 10, 2024.
[10] O ECO. Lula vetoes setbacks to the Atlantic Forest Law included in the Forest Code provisional measure. Available at: https://oeco.org.br/salada-verde/lula-veta-retrocessos-a-lei-da-mata-atlantica-incluidas-na-mp-do-codigo-florestal/. Accessed on: Sept. 27, 2024.
[11] FOLHA DE S.PAULO. Congress threatens to retaliate against the Lula administration after PGR and STF offensive against amendments. Available at: https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2024/08/congresso-ameaca-retaliar-governo-lula-apos-ofensiva-de-pgr-e-stf-contra-emendas.shtml. Accessed on: Sept. 27, 2024.
[12] UOL. What hasn’t been done: floods in Rio Grande do Sul. Available at: https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2024/05/25/o-que-nao-foi-feito-enchentes-rio-grande-do-sul.htm. Accessed on: Sept. 27, 2024.
[13] BRAZIL. Ibama licensing permits drop to the lowest level in 10 years. Metrópoles, Sept. 20, 2024. Available at: https://www.metropoles.com/brasil/autorizacoes-de-licencas-do-ibama-caem-para-menor-nivel-em-10-anos. Accessed on: Sept. 27, 2024.
[14] BRAZIL. Supreme Court orders mobilization to combat fires in the Pantanal and Amazon. Conjur, Aug. 27, 2024. Available at: https://www.conjur.com.br/2024-ago-27/stf-determina-mobilizacao-para-combate-a-incendios-no-pantanal-e-na-amazonia/. Accessed on: Sept. 27, 2024.
[15] Projeto Ruptura signed a manifesto requesting ratification of the agreement alongside other organizations fighting for human rights and environmental agendas. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH. Letter on the Ratification of the Escazú Agreement. Available at: https://www.hrw.org/pt/news/2024/03/26/letter-ratification-escazu-agreement. Accessed on: Sept. 10, 2024.
[16] BRAZIL. Brazil is the second deadliest country for environmental defenders in 2023, NGO reports. Folha de S.Paulo, Sept. 27, 2024. Available at: https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ambiente/2024/09/brasil-e-o-segundo-pais-que-mais-matou-defensores-ambientais-em-2023-aponta-ong.shtml?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=comptw. Accessed on: Sept. 27, 2024.
[17] BRAZIL. Government suspends report on deaths and diseases in Yanomami Territory. G1, Jul. 26, 2024. Available at: https://g1.globo.com/meio-ambiente/noticia/2024/07/26/governo-suspende-boletim-sobre-mortes-e-doencas-na-terra-yanomami.ghtml. Accessed on: Sept. 27, 2024.
[18] INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS. Provisional Measure SE-02: Yanomami Case. [S.l.]: IACHR, 2023. Available at: https://corteidh.or.cr/docs/medidas/yanomami_se_02_por.pdf. Accessed on: Jul. 8, 2024.
[19] Oppenheimer, Andrés. "Ludicrous U.N. speeches: Brazil, Colombia focus on Israel, ignore Venezuela crisis | Opinion." Miami Herald, 2024. Available at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/andres-oppenheimer/article292993409.html. Accessed on: Sept. 27, 2024.
Comments