Brazil's Amazon Deforestation Rate Spikes

Brut America

In 2019, deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest has surged. That same year, Jair Bolsonaro took office in Brazil. And according to Greenpeace France, it’s no coincidence.

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00:00To give you an idea, it represents about 93 times the area of a city like Paris, so

00:25the deforestation in the Mediterranean Amazon is absolutely colossal.

00:56Jair Bolsonaro is destroying, in a few months only, all the environmental protections

01:02that had been hard acquired in the Amazon and in Brazil.

01:06Jair Bolsonaro did not hide it during his presidential campaign.

01:10His goal is to develop agro-industry in the Brazilian Amazon,

01:14while we know that it is agro-industry that is the main cause of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.

01:20So it is very logical that 11 months after his inauguration,

01:23we find ourselves with a spectacular deforestation.

01:35It is really essential to defend and protect the Amazon for three reasons.

01:39The first reason is for the climate.

01:41If we want to stay in a world at 1.5 degrees,

01:44we must absolutely protect and preserve our forests, which are carbon deposits.

01:48The second reason is biodiversity.

01:50Tropical forests have an extraordinary biodiversity.

01:53We estimate that about two-thirds of terrestrial biodiversity is found in tropical forests.

01:58And finally, the last reason is local communities and indigenous peoples

02:02who depend on forests for their long-term and daily survival.

02:05And in Brazil, indigenous communities have been strongly threatened

02:09since the arrival of Jair Bolsonaro's power.

02:18For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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