A Renewal of the Amazon

The Guardian

On October 30th, 2022, the Amazon rainforest arrived at a dead end, with only two options in determining the fate of the biodiversity hub of the planet.

CNN- Former President Jair Bolsonaro

In one direction lays the continued acceleration of deforestation under Jair Bolsonaro, which had risen dramatically in his four-year term. This was the function of spending cuts to science and environmental agencies, firing of environmental experts, and decreased regulations. Furthermore, these policies significantly weakened indigenous land rights, and acted in favor of agribusiness industry.

Reuters- President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

In the other direction lays the potential for recovery- former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to take a polar opposite approach compared to Bolsonaro. He has pledged to crack down on illegal mining and help bring forest loss under control. Moreover, Lula, as he’s commonly known, is re-establishing the Amazon Forest Fund, a international fund aimed at raising money from countries around to world to prevent deforestation.

Luckily, for the Amazon rainforest and its residents, the second path was taken. So, what exactly has happened? Learn about the renewal of the Amazon below:

General Overview: here

Lula's plan: here