FOREST CLEARANCE IMPACTS
- Amazon influences Tibet and Antarctica
Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest could influence the temperature and precipitation over the Tibetan plateau 15,000 kilometres away and affects Antarctic ice, according to analysis of “teleconnection data” between 1979 and 2019 by Saini Yang at Beijing Normal University in China - Deforestation fastest in Venezuela
The destruction of the Amazon rainforest is accelerating faster in Venezuela than in any other country, spurred by a state-sanctioned boom in gold mining, notes a report in New Scientist - Religious group most to blame for forest clearance in Peru
Satellite data shows Mennonites, an ultra-conservative religious group, have become the leading cause of large-scale deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon — exceeding deforestation caused by agribusiness and oil palm plantations, reports Mongabay
MONEY FOR THE AMAZON
- Amazon Fund is back!
Norway says Amazon Fund to reduce deforestation in Brazil back in business and is currently worth 620 million dollars (3.4 billion reals), including German donation - UK may join Amazon Fund
Britain is considering joining the billion-dollar Amazon Fund to finance sustainability in the rainforest, the UK’s environment minister Therese Coffey told Reuters during a visit to Brazil for Lula’s inauguration - UK Bank proposes $10bn Amazon bond
Strategists at Natwest bank have proposed the idea of a super-sized $10 billion Brazilian government bond that would be specifically designed to help halt the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, reports Reuters - Bankers urge Brazil to link deforestation with interest rate
International bankers are urging Brazil’s government to sell a special Amazon bond that would link interest rates to the country’s ability to protect the rainforest, reports Bloomberg - Carbon credits
Markets for carbon credits have soared to $2 billion from $200 million five years ago, but little of that money is making its way to people who preserve forests, according to this story from Peru in the Wall Street Journal
HYDROPOWER EXPANSION FEARS
- 900 major dams built or planned in Amazon
The Amazon basin now has 434 major dams completed or under construction, while another 463 are planned with devastating consequences for migratory freshwater species, warns a new report covered in o Eco - Small dams pose unrecognised threat
Amazon river systems are at risk of “death by a thousand cuts” from the cumulative damage of small hydropower dams, even though these 30 megawatt-or-less dams get far less attention than mega-projects like Belo Monte, finds a new study covered by Mongabay
BEEF INDUSTRY FAILURES
- JBS and others slow to trace source of cattle
Slaughterhouses, such as JBS, Marfrig and Minerva are failing to identify the original of cattle they carve and sell even though they have the technological capacity and a moral obligation to do this, according to the Attorney General’s Office in Pará, which has demanded stronger monitoring. Story by Repórter Brasil
ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME
- Tensions rising in Javari Valley
Seven months after the murders of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira, Abraji reports on death threats, suspected arson attacks and a growing climate of insecurity among indigenous leaders and activists in the Atalaia do Norte - Criminal organisations and anthropologist investigated
Police have searched a property owned by the pro-agribusiness anthropologist Edward Luz, as part of an operation to crack down on illegal incursions by criminal organisations and others into the Ituna Itatá indigenous land in Pará, according to Reporter Brasil
What happens in the Amazon affects Antarctica ice (above) and rainfall in Tibet, says study. Photo: Ozge Elif Kizil/AFP
