Tribune. In the first half of 2021, deforestation in the Amazon increased by 17% compared to the first half of 2020. As the dry season opens in Brazil, the number of fires exceeds that of last year at the same period. These figures point to new fire records in Brazil this summer.
Faced with this environmental, climatic and social disaster, France remains passive. However, our imports of products from deforestation contribute to the destruction of the exceptional ecosystems of these regions: the Amazon and the Cerrado are destroyed in order to make way for pastures and soybean fields that France imports massively for its animals from breeding.
The year 2020 was marked by fires that devastated more than 310,000 km2 in Brazil, with the guarantee of President Jair Bolsonaro. For the third year in a row, the forest will have lost approximately 10,000 km2, the equivalent of the area of Ile-de-France! The rate of destruction is such that scientists are warning: if no immediate action is taken, the Amazon rainforest will turn into a savannah, leading to the irreversible destruction of this ecosystem essential to the survival of humanity.
These ecosystems, with their unique biodiversity, are vital for the planetary climate balance. Today, the Brazilian Amazon no longer fulfills its role as the planet’s lungs. According to a scientific study published in Nature, it emits more carbon than it helps sequester some. If nothing is done, the entire Amazon could become a net emitter of carbon.
There is an urgent need to act. In 2019, Emmanuel Macron recognized France’s responsibility and pledged to slow down the destruction of the Amazon. Two years later, the report is bitter: our imports from deforestation have not slowed down and the destruction of the Amazon has accelerated.
Eyes on France
If France adopted a “national strategy to combat imported deforestation” in November 2018, this has remained a dead letter, for lack of political will. France’s action will remain ineffective as long as it is based on the goodwill of companies. To ensure that the soybeans it imports do not come from deforestation, France must take measures to force importers to ensure that the products they place on the market are not linked to deforestation or to destruction of ecosystems.
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