Articles by Naira Hofmeister

Naira Hofmeister é jornalista graduada pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, fez especialização em Madri (Espanha), e é mestra em História da Literatura, também pela Ufrgs. Atua como freelancer desde 2006, sempre baseada em Porto Alegre. Ao longo de sua trajetória profissional cobriu o cotidiano político e econômico e escreveu reportagens de fôlego em quase 30 veículos diferentes. No último ano, colaborou com El País, The Intercept Brasil, Agência Pública, Yahoo, Superinteressante e piauí, entre outros meios de comunicação. Já desenvolveu três projetos de financiamento coletivo para o jornalismo independente no Rio Grande do Sul. Em 2018, como cofundadora do Filtro Fact-Checking, foi agraciada com o troféu Antônio Gonzalez de Contribuição à Imprensa, categoria especial do 60º Prêmio ARI de Jornalismo. Também integrou a equipe vencedora do Prêmio Direitos Humanos de Jornalismo, categoria “on-line”, com o projeto Amazônia Resiste, da Agência Pública.

World’s top tapir expert prepares for unprecedented Amazon mission

by Naira Hofmeister 24 June 2020

In her first study in the region, Brazilian conservationist and Whitley Gold Award winner Patrícia Medici wants to understand how South America’s largest land mammal responds to changes in the forest caused by human economic activity.

Brazilian taxpayers subsidizing Amazon-clearing cattle ranches, study shows

by Naira Hofmeister 26 May 2020

A new study shows taxpayer money is helping to prop up the beef industry in Brazil, one of the primary drivers of deforestation in the country. For every dollar of tax revenue collected from the industry, only 20 cents effectively goes to society — the rest goes back to producers in the form of incentives, easy credit, and even debt forgiveness.

As bioethanol demand rises, biodiversity will fall in Cerrado, study says

by Naira Hofmeister 4 May 2020

An area half the size of Switzerland in Brazil’s Cerrado biome could see its biodiversity plummet as sugarcane farms expand to meet global demand for bioethanol, a new study says. Researchers calculated that some parts of the Cerrado could see up to 100% loss of mammalian species richness; endangered animals like the maned wolf and the giant anteater will be the most affected.

$3 million and an official apology: Brazil’s Ashaninka get unprecedented compensation for deforestation on their land

by Naira Hofmeister 16 April 2020

An unprecedented court settlement guaranteed reparations to the Ashaninka people of the state of Acre, in the Brazilian Amazon, whose lands were deforested in the 1980s to supply the European furniture industry. The indigenous people only agreed with the negotiation because it included an official apology and a recognition of their "enormous importance as guardians" of the Amazon.