Indigenous rights take a hit under cover of pandemic, new report says
by Meghie Rodrigues on 5 March 2021
A new report evaluates the state of human rights among Indigenous peoples in five tropical forest countries: Brazil, Colombia, Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Indonesia.
One of the key findings is that governments in these countries are prioritizing the expansion of the energy sector, infrastructure, mining and logging, and the development of industrial agriculture close to or inside Indigenous territories, while loosening oversight of land grabbing and illegal deforestation.
Indigenous peoples have had to adapt their resistance and fight to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic to avoid having their rights violated even further.
Brazil Environment Minister Salles diagnosed with COVID-19
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Brazil Environment Minister Salles diagnosed with COVID-19
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I. Deforestation
Since President Bolsonaro took office in 2019, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has increased dramatically. The increase was more than 30 percent during the first year of his administration and an additional 9.5 percent during the second year, according to official figures.[2] Last year, over 11,000 square kilometers of rainforest were lost, nearly triple the 3,925 square kilometers target that Brazil committed itself to reaching by 2020 as part of its National Climate Change Policy.[3] Overall, deforestation under President Bolsonaro has reached the highest level over the past decade.
The accelerated destruction of the Brazilian Amazon could have devastating consequences for the region and global efforts to mitigate climate change. Scientists estimate that 17 percent of all the Amazon has already been deforested. If the current rate of destruction continues, between 20 and 25 per cent of the rainforest could be cleared in under two decades, pushing the Amazon
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BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil’s government needs to do more to combat rising illegal deforestation in the Amazon rainforest that is damaging the country’s business reputation, said João Paulo Ferreira, Latin America CEO at cosmetics maker Natura & Co.
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The business community is having positive discussions with Vice President Hamilton Mourão, who has taken the lead on Amazon issues, Ferreira said.
But this talk is still not being reflected in the actions of the government, he said.
“Why are there no results?” Ferreira asked.
Natura uses a variety of ingredients from the Amazon in its cosmetics, generally sourcing them through local indigenous or other traditional foraging communities.