80% of Brazilian deforestation between 2000-2014 resulted from new pasture creation, with 20% directly due to new croplands; however, land speculation drove the process.
The world’s leading companies involved in the soy trade are being challenged to come clean about their impact on the environment and to completely eliminate deforestation from their operations. The…
ÑUFLO DE CHÁVEZ, Bolivia — Few countries in the tropics have seen their trees chopped down as quickly as Bolivia did between 2001 and 2017. According to data from the…
Cargill, Bunge, ADM, Louis Dreyfus, Glencore Agriculture, and Chinese firm COFCO have agreed to reveal soy supply chain data for 25 “high risk” areas – a step toward zero deforestation.
Weakening of Brazil’s Forest Code by Congress in 2012 and by the Supreme Court in 2018 could free Amazon landowners to clear 15 million hectares of once protected forest: study.
“We came here to get our cattle back. Are you releasing them?” shouted Jossone Lopes Leite from horseback. The 38-year-old Cerrado rural settlement leader – joined by five community members…
Newly appointed Minister of Infrastructure Tarcísio Freitas is resolved to build new Amazon roads and railroads, but expresses limited patience for environmental or indigenous concerns.
Agribusiness, well backed by government, is hailed an “economic miracle.” But family farms, with nominal help, provide 70% of the food Brazilians eat.
The Cerrado biome, covering 20 percent of Brazil, has seen rapid deforestation in the 21st century; a recent report says that much of this is driven by soy grown to feed livestock, which feeds Brazilians.
Deforestation in Brazil’s cerrado, a wooded savanna that covers nearly a quarter of the country, fell 11 precent relative to a year ago, reported the Ministry of Environment last week.…
It is time to move away from large hydroelectric dams in favor of micro-scale energy generation and sustainable alternatives, according to a new report.
A Cerrado accord breakthrough could be at hand, conserving Brazil’s biodiverse savanna, and setting a new conservation precedent protecting not just forests but a mosaic of ecosystems.
President elect Jair Bolsonaro signals his government will be strongly pro-business, likely bringing major setbacks for the environment, indigenous groups and social movements in Brazil.
The benefits of zero-deforestation agreements in the Amazon are being offset by the spillover of deforestation and native vegetation loss into other biomes.
Brazil has plans for an expansive Amazon and Cerrado rail network, including two transcontinental Atlantic to Pacific lines, but development likely depends on China.
Alcoa, Vale Mining, Suez Energy, Camargo Corrêa Energia, and Brazil’s government promised the town of Formosa mega-dam reparations, a pledge never fulfilled.
The Brazilian cattle industry’s lack of traceability allows deforestation-linked beef to reach retailers committed to eliminating it. Uruguay’s digital traceability system could be a solution.
Over 3,000 Quilombos, rural communities established by runaway slaves, are seeing their legal land claims denied and settlements whittled away by Brazilian government policies, say critics.
Soy farmers see Grainrail as salvation; traders ADM, Bunge, Cargill and Amaggi see it as profit; but the Amazon railway could harm habitat and indigenous communities.
The imminent election this month of far right Jair Bolsonaro as Brazil’s new president poses threats to the environment, indigenous people, and the global climate.
Brazilian eucalyptus growers are moving into the Cerrado biome, raising concerns over land theft from traditional communities and over the loss of native vegetation.
Two-thirds of federal deputies seeking re-election to Brazil’s Congress this October supported bills harmful to the environment, indigenous peoples, and rural workers.
Traditional communities in Brazil’s savannah, lacking land deeds, have been displaced by large-scale soy growers, and forced to resettle in impoverished cities like Campos Lindos.
Some ruralist politicians, up for election next month, own or associate with firms guilty of crimes; push attacks on the environment and indigenous groups; sell goods to U.S. / EU.
The greatest natural history repository in South America, Brazil’s National Museum was consumed by fire last Sunday — much was destroyed, but not all.
Brazil is a leading global consumer of chemical pesticides – many banned in the EU and U.S. This not only puts farmworkers at risk, but consumers of Brazilian food the world round.
The government of Brazil has announced that it has cut its climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions to the point that it has met a long-established goal three years ahead of time.…
Despite ongoing deforestation, fires, drought-induced die-offs, and insect outbreaks, the world's tree cover actually increased by 2.24 million square kilometers — an area the size of Texas and Alaska combined…
Commodities traders have largely curbed soy buying from Brazilian Amazon producers, shifting buys to the Gran Chaco and Cerrado, where deforestation is now in full swing.
Brazil’s rural poor were once well served by social programs that offered urgently needed income, food, water and hope. But those programs have seen recent deep cuts, hurting rural communities.