Why a green economy is needed to stop Amazon deforestation
来源:World Economic Forum;发表于:2021-05-04;人气指数:677
Why a green economy is needed to stop Amazon
deforestation
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/04/green-economy-stop-amazon-deforestation/
Deforestation in the Amazon – 95% of which is
illegal – reached a 12-year high in 2020.
Image: REUTERS/Bruno Kelly
22 Apr 2021
Ilona Szabó de Carvalho
Co-founder and President, Igarape Institute
*Future of the Amazon rainforest is at a
dangerous environmental tipping point if deforestation levels rise another 5%.
*Collective action must be taken by countries
in the Amazon Basin, underpinned by the latest scientific and technological
advances.
*Building a successful green economy will
depend on the political will to crack down on illegal deforestation and verify
land ownership and usage.
This is one of a series of articles written by
Young Global Leaders with action-oriented ideas to improve the state of the
world by 2030.
The Amazon Basin is on the brink of an irreversible
tipping point with planetary implications. Spanning eight South American
countries, the Amazon is home to over 60% of the world’s tropical forests, 20%
of all freshwater and about 10% of biodiversity. Owing to land speculation and
insatiable global demand for meat, soy, gold and other commodities, roughly 20%
of the Amazon has been razed to the ground.
If deforestation levels rise another 5%, the
world’s largest tropical forest could experience catastrophic die-back,
essentially dooming the Paris Agreement. There are fears this process may have
already started and the prognosis does not look good. Deforestation reached a 12-year
high in Brazil in 2020.
According to MapBiomas, a
project involving universities, NGOs and technology companies that maps land
use in the region, over 95% of all deforestation in the Amazon is illegal. If
governments and markets radically revalue the rainforest’s biodiversity, then
this nightmare scenario may be unavoidable.
If the Amazon Basin undergoes die-back, the
equivalent of a decade of global emissions could be released. The forest will
also lose its ability to absorb billions of tons of CO2, disrupting
hydrological cycles, evapotranspiration and ocean currents. The agri-industrial
sector could collapse, along with staggering biodiversity loss. Hydro-electric
facilities will be shuttered, declining water tables will make cities
unliveable and fisheries could collapse.
Science-based solutions
Achieving zero deforestation in the Amazon by
2030 requires a clear-headed scientific assessment and science-based targets to
tackle the problem. The Scientific Panel for the Amazon, a coalition of nearly
200 leading scientists from the region, should become permanent. One of the
best ways to protect the forest is by stimulating a green economy through the
extraordinary wealth potential of its biodiversity.
Tackling illegal deforestation
Building a green economy requires
cracking-down on illegal deforestation and the networks that sustain it.
Brazil’s environmental enforcement agency, IBAMA, handed out 20% fewer fines in
2020 due to funding cuts and reduced sanctions – less than 3% of fines are ever
paid. Illegal deforestation occurs in several ways: it typically begins with
illegal land invasions followed by the clearance of forest for commercial
agriculture and ranching.
Another approach involves wildcat mining,
mostly for gold, which undermines local ecosystems and human health. Forests
are also affected by wildlife trafficking, fuelled by unrelenting global demand
for rare birds, reptiles and mammals. Massive investment in high resolution
remote sensing, alert systems using AI, tracking illegal commodities in global
supply chains, and strengthening investigation and prosecution is essential.
Indeed, two thirds of the world’s supply chains do not have policies on illegal
deforestation.
Robust land registration system
One of the most significant priorities is
ensuring a transparent and accountable land registration system. One of
the trickiest problems in the Amazon is developing a system that allows
property titles and land demarcations to be properly registered and monitored
over time. There is considerable fraud and corruption in the land registries of
most Amazonian countries.
Creating a system that is digitized,
accessible and up-to-date is critical to enforcing existing laws and also
stimulating legal markets. Developing an online dispute resolution system to
address outstanding legacy litigation related to competing land claims is no less critical. While difficult,
the development of a blockchain system of verification for land registries to
demonstrate a clear chain of ownership and custody would vastly improve the
potential of a green economy.
Financing reforestation
Another priority is accelerating reforestation
and regeneration of land. In Brazil, home to 60% of the Amazon’s tropical
forests, the state of Pará is an obvious candidate. In Colombia, Peru and
Ecuador with roughly 23% of the Amazon between them, Amazonas, Loreto and
Pastaza states stand out. A priority is to build a predictable pipeline of
reforestation, biodiversity conservation and sustainable forest management
projects that can rapidly scale.
Financing could be accelerated by the Reducing
Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) initiative.
International financing from the Amazon Fund, US support from the new Biden
administration and tools such as green bonds will help. Local financing is also
potentially game-changing. So too are initiatives such as the Global Commons
Alliance, One Trillion Trees and investor activism, including from sovereign
wealth and pension funds. In 2019, over 230 global investors with more than $16
trillion in assets warned companies to either meet their deforestation
commitments or risk economic consequences.
Fostering innovation for green growth
Innovative solutions are crucial to stimulate
the green economy and support the communities who are the custodians of the
Amazon Basin. What is needed is DARPA-like approach to ramp-up the research and
development, and related innovation and regulatory frameworks to engineer an
inclusive bioeconomy in the Amazon. This includes research to collect and
systematize Amazon biodiversity – including drones to sample biodiversity in
hard-to-reach areas and the study of fruits, nuts, plant extracts and fibres –
and digital platforms to secure biological assets for the public good.
These efforts must be accompanied by clear
enforceable rules to share data and safeguards to promote local value creation
and retention. It may also include the formation of low- and high-tech
innovation hubs in selected countries to stimulate local innovation, harness
traditional knowledge and ensure local ownership and wealth creation.
A combination of government, private and civil
society partners are essential for advancing the green economy and delivering
zero deforestation. In Brazil, there are several coalitions tackling specific
dimensions of the challenge. Alliances such as the Concertation for the Amazon
and the Brazil Coalition for Climate, Forests and Agriculture are playing a
pivotal role in shaping the agenda and connecting stakeholders. Local
governments are also stepping-up even while the country’s federal government is
missing in action.
Concerted international and regional efforts –
such as the Leticia Pact – combined with national and subnational interventions
could drive a positive agenda forward and increase the cost of government
inaction. As a member of the aforementioned coalitions and a wide range of
global networks, the Igarape Institute is committed to advancing these
processes.
(The author would like to thank Robert Muggah,
Juan Carlos Castilla-Rubio and Julia Sekula for their contribution to this
article.)
This decade the world will likely witness more
social, economic and environmental changes than over the last century. While
the COVID-19 pandemic called for immediate reforms, the mainstreaming of
stakeholder capitalism, the impacts of climate change, the escalation of next-generation
technologies, and the empowerment of citizenship will pave the way for a
‘resetting’ of the global economy and social practices.
This article series presents pioneering,
forward-looking, and action-oriented ideas that should be adopted up to 2030 to
improve the state of the world. The WEF invited a group of individuals who have
been selected as Young Global Leaders (YGLs) in the course of their careers.
Authors include heads of government, business leaders and scientists, prominent
intellectuals or civil society leaders.
On an annual basis and since 2004, the World
Economic Forum identifies the world’s most promising leaders under the age of
40 — people driving innovation for positive change across civil society, arts,
culture, government and business. This series, an initiative of the Forum of
Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum, harnesses the expertise and
experience of this group of leaders.
For additional information on the article
series, please contact Rodrigo Tavares (curator).