Norway and Germany confirmed that they will stop sending money to the Amazon Fund, a project devoted to fighting against deforestation in Brazil. This decision is due to Jair Bolsonaro‘s policies and the increase in deforestation during his administration. Will the largest rainforest on the planet be abandoned?
By José Díaz
Servindi, August 16th, 2019.- What was a rumor a week ago, was confirmed last weekend. Germany and Norway, the two main donors of funds for the protection of the Brazilian Amazon, froze their funds due to the anti-environmental policies of the Brazilian Government. New bad news for the largest rainforest on planet Earth.
In this way, the Amazon Fund, a project that since 2008 fights against deforestation, has been abandoned. This would put at risk the $ 1.2 billion that this project has already invested in the Amazon to create sustainable development programs and campaigns to combat deforestation.
"The Brazilian government's policies in the Amazon raise questions about whether they are still pursuing the objective of sustainably reducing the rate of deforestation," said German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze. Meanwhile, Norwegian Minister Ola Elvestuen said that "Brazil shows that they no longer want to stop deforestation."
In summary, for this year the Amazon Fund will stop receiving 75 million euros between Norway and Germany. With this, the situation in the Amazon is exposed to serious dangers, since Brazil has 60% of rainforest that it shares with other new countries in South America.
Political Crisis
The Brazilian response was made by President Jair Bolsonaro himself who, after initially criticizing Angela Merkel, attacked Norway. “Isn't Norway the one that kills whales over there, at the North Pole? What also exploits oil there? It has nothing to offer us,” said the Brazilian president after the decision taken by the Norwegian Government.
Brazil is the country with the largest Amazon rainforest on the continent. It has 7 billion hectares and in the last year, the deforestation rate increased by 278%, which is estimated that almost 6 thousand square kilometers have been deforested only in the last 12 months.
Likewise, Jair Bolsonaro’s administration has weakened various institutions responsible for protecting and revitalizing Amazonian populations. For example, in February of this year, he announced a series of measures that weaken the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) in charge of protecting indigenous territories.
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