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2. The Disappearance of a Mapuche Elder is an Indictment of Chile’s “Progressive” Government
- Author:
- Carole Concha Bell
- Publication Date:
- 01-2025
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
- Abstract:
- Activists link the disappearance of land defender Julia Chuñil to the state’s militarization of the region and its deep ties to rapacious forestry companies.
- Topic:
- Disappearance, Land Rights, Indigenous, Deforestation, and Mapuche
- Political Geography:
- South America and Chile
3. The Racist Undertones of Bolivia’s Environmental Movement
- Author:
- Benjamin Swift and Laura Barriga Dávalos
- Publication Date:
- 02-2024
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
- Abstract:
- As massive wildfires swept across Bolivia in late 2023, a classist, racist, and capitalist public outcry deflected from the primary drivers of drought and deforestation.
- Topic:
- Environment, Capitalism, Political Movements, Racism, Deforestation, Drought, Wildfires, and Classism
- Political Geography:
- South America and Bolivia
4. Protected areas, indigenous communities, deforestation and the role of institutions: evidence for the lowlands of Bolivia
- Author:
- Pedro Cayul
- Publication Date:
- 03-2024
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Environmental Studies, The Graduate Institute (IHEID)
- Abstract:
- Protected areas and indigenous communities play a crucial role in controlling deforestation, which is responsible for carbon emissions related to land use and land use change, contributing to global warming and climate change. However, the effectiveness of protected areas is conditioned by their administration and the quality of the institutions in their countries. In this paper, I will analyze the effectiveness of protected areas (Both at the national and sub-national levels) and indigenous territories and the institutions' role in the case of Bolivia's lowlands. I computed deforestation rates for four different periods between 1986 and 2021 to test the impact of institutions on different types of protected areas by using satellite images at 30m resolution and combining them with official data on protected areas and indigenous communities, which includes specific locations and dates of creation. Using a spatial regression discontinuity design, the results show that protected areas at the national level are the most effective in controlling deforestation, particularly after the creation of institutions taking care of them. Departmental protected areas have some impact on preventing deforestation, while municipal ones have no influence. For indigenous communities, there was a significant effect on reducing deforestation with the first reservations created, but the effect wears off over time. Regarding mechanism, being close to cities and routes is a threat for indigenous communities and departmental PAs, while it is an advantage for national PAs. Finally, protected areas and indigenous communities show, in general, greater levels of deforestation when they are exposed to cattle ranching settlements, mines, and oil wells.
- Topic:
- Environment, Institutions, Mining, Indigenous, Deforestation, and Protection
- Political Geography:
- South America and Bolivia
5. Brazil Is Burning and Agribusiness Must Be Held Liable
- Author:
- Sabrina Fernandes
- Publication Date:
- 10-2024
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
- Abstract:
- As blazes set new records, it is important to denormalize the framing of forest destruction as a simple natural cycle, detached from criminal activity, intentional deforestation, economic interests, and climate change.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Crime, Economics, Deforestation, and Agribusiness
- Political Geography:
- Brazil and South America
6. Is the European Union Deforestation Regulation WTO-Proof?
- Author:
- Bruno Capuzzi
- Publication Date:
- 09-2024
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE)
- Abstract:
- The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is set to take effect on 30th December 2024. While it aligns with EU’s climate goals under the European Green Deal, it has sparked concerns with EU partners regarding its compatibility with World Trade Organization (WTO) principles. Internally, some member-States and productive sectors fear that the lack of clarity in its rules could disrupt European supply chains. Products like coffee, chocolate, and leather are some examples where costs and price are expected to rise due to compliance requirements, documentation, and shipment segregation. Critics argue that the EUDR’s unilateral imposition of EU standards on third countries could be viewed as extraterritorial and more restrictive than necessary towards its objectives. This paper analyses lessons from WTO reports on US Shrimp/Turtle and US Tuna/Dolphin, which are relevant to discussions on non-product-related processes and production methods (PPMs). Key findings suggest that the EUDR could be justified under GATT exceptions clause (Article XX). However, for this to be successful, the Policy Brief proposes more flexibility in considering local realities of exporting countries. This would include shifting the EUDR approach to cooperating towards an outcome-based equivalence systems instead of rigid procedural requirements.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, European Union, Trade, WTO, Deforestation, and Mercosur
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Latin America
7. Extra time for deforestation: lessons for future EU environmental legislation
- Author:
- Heather Grabbe and Luca Léry Moffat
- Publication Date:
- 11-2024
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Bruegel
- Abstract:
- Forests are essential to regulating the climate, absorbing greenhouse gases and providing fresh water and habitats for biodiversity and indigenous peoples. If deforestation continues at current rates, large parts of the planet will become uninhabitable. The European Union has only 5.5 percent of the world’s population, but its demand drives 15 percent of the global forest destruction linked to trade. Therefore, the EU has introduced a law – the regulation on deforestation-free products, or deforestation regulation – to outlaw from its market products linked to deforestation. The regulation has triggered protest about its impact on trade partners, leading the European Commission to propose at short notice a delay in its implementation. However, the objectives of the regulation remain valid and important. Moreover, a large majority of EU consumers want to avoid buying products that result from deforestation and find it frustratingly difficult to find information on whether products are deforestation-free. Economic actors in most of the affected sectors support the objectives of the regulation, even though they criticise the way it has been implemented. To avoid this delay having a chilling effect on other green measures in future, the EU should learn lessons from this experience. The European Commission needs to develop a consistent and effective strategy for managing the external impact of the EU’s green policy agenda, with better diplomacy towards trade partners and specific financial assistance to help the poorer countries with compliance and the transition to more sustainable production. This Policy Brief sets out why the deforestation regulation has the right objectives but needed better design and preparation for implementation. In particular, the EU needs to provide more flanking support for developing countries to ease their transitions and improve forest protection. Economic actors along the whole of supply chains need more consultation during the design stage, and the Commission needs to provide clearer guidance by sector and a well-functioning system for compliance.
- Topic:
- Environment, Governance, European Union, Deforestation, Implementation, and Forests
- Political Geography:
- Europe
8. Dynamics of the Ecosystem of Environmental Crimes in the Brazilian Legal Amazon
- Author:
- Igarapé Institute
- Publication Date:
- 08-2024
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Igarapé Institute
- Abstract:
- The Brazilian Legal Amazon is the site of a complex ecosystem of environmental and related non-environmental crimes that impact both the environment and the people living there. Organized environmental crime contributes in many ways to the destruction and degradation of the forest, significantly accelerating land use changes in the world’s largest tropical forest. The loss of Amazon forest cover is causing irreversible damage to Brazil and the world by accelerating climate change. Despite growing recognition among actors inside and outside the Brazilian state, there is still a lack of systematic and in-depth understanding of the scope, scale, and dynamics of organized environmental crime in the Amazon region. While there has been significant progress in the development of georeferenced information systems to monitor deforestation in the Legal Amazon – an area spanning nine states in the northern region of the country – Brazil lacks data on organized crime to assist the government and society in addressing one of the most significant challenges of our time. In an effort to understand the phenomenon, the Igarapé Institute is launching the Strategic Article Dynamics of the Ecosystem of Environmental Crimes in the Legal Amazon. This article presents an overview of the different crime patterns in the states that make up the Brazilian Amazon based on updated data on Federal Police operations in the region covering 2016 to 2022. This analysis is essential not only to understand the Brazilian State’s efforts in combating organized environmental crime but also to reveal the transnational connections of environmental crime, links between environmental crimes and drug-related offenses, the presence of rural militias, and these crimes in Indigenous Lands.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Police, Indigenous, Militias, Organized Crime, Deforestation, and Environmental Crime
- Political Geography:
- Brazil, South America, and Amazon Basin
9. The European Union Deforestation Regulation: The Impact on Argentina
- Author:
- Pablo de la Vega
- Publication Date:
- 06-2024
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
- Abstract:
- We analyze the potential economic impacts in Argentina of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which as of January 2025 will prohibit the export to the European Union of certain raw materials and related products if they involve the use of deforested land. A dynamic computable general equilibrium model is used to simulate the impact of such regulation on the Argentine economy. The results suggest that the potential macroeconomic impacts are limited. As a consequence of the EUDR, between 2025 and 2030, GDP would be reduced by an average of 0.46% with respect to the baseline scenario. However, of greater magnitude is the potential environmental impact. Deforested hectares would be reduced by 6.64% and polluting gas emissions by 0.39%.
- Topic:
- European Union, Regulation, Exports, Trade, and Deforestation
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Argentina, South America, and Latin America