Brazil’s Forests and Indigenous Peoples Outlook on the Eve of National Elections

Amazonia contains some 15% of all global biodiversity, and 22% of the world’s fresh waters. The objectives of the United Nations’ Biodiversity and Climate Conventions, including the Paris 2015 Climate objectives, cannot be reached, unless destruction of Amazonian ecosystems are stopped.

During President Jair Bolsonaro's four years in office, the destruction of Brazil's forests and threats to its indigenous peoples have reached unprecedented, appalling levels. Conservationists fear that the Amazon is close to a tipping point, where vast stretches may irreversibly turn into savannahs.

The regime of the last years has allowed massive clearings. In disregard of Brazil’s laws, demarcations of Indigenous and Nature Conservation areas have been invaded by loggers, wildcat miners, and landgrabbers. Against this background, the Presidential elections which will be held in Brazil on October 2 have enormous significance for people in Amazonia, and indeed, for the planet.

The Opposition has a record of advocacy for the underprivileged and the environment. They deserve international recognition for past remarkable reductions in Amazon deforestation, during earlier administrations. More - when we discuss with Jose Pedro de Oliveira Costa.

José Pedro de Oliveira Costa
“Ze Pedro” is one of Brazil's most prominent lifelong conservationists, and today leads World Heritage Watch in Brazil. He taught at the University of Sao Paulo for over 40 years. In the course of his career, he was instrumental in the creation of Brazil’s Environment Governance. He held high office repeatedly at the environment agency of the State of Sao Paulo, and at the national Ministry of the Environment. He advanced the designation of over one hundred protected areas at the state, national, and international levels, including nomination of several Natural World Heritage Sites in Brazil. He was Special Advisor to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, IUCN Regional Advisor for Latin America, one of the organizers of the Rio Conference in 1992 and of the Brundtland Commission, and of follow-up conferences. Today he is vice-director of the Amazonia em Transformação program at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Sao Paulo University. Thanks to his mentoring of dialogue between civil society and government, Ze Pedro has become an international reference on sustainability, biodiversity and climate change.

Anna Cavazzini
Anna Cavazzini was an advisor to the President of the UN General Assembly on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and since 2019, has been a member of the European Parliament for Alliance90/The Greens, chairing the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee and, recently, serving on the European Parliament's Delegation to Brazil. In July 2022, Ms. Cavazzini traveled deep into the Amazon, where she had many conversations with representatives of indigenous peoples in order to learn about their situation.

Maritta von Bieberstein Koch-Weser
During her many years at the World Bank, Maritta Koch-Weser was responsible for environmental programs in Latin America, some of which included the demarcation of the indigenous reserves and protected areas in the Amazon. She has remained closely connected to Brazil ever since, and today leads the Amazonia 4.0 program together with Professor Carlos Nobre, at the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Sao Paulo. She has served on the boards of many international organizations, including the board of directors of WWF Germany, and as Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). She is a founding member of World Heritage Watch and serves as its President.

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