Political Report # 1412 A Top Financier Of Trump And Mcconnell Is A Driving Force Behind Amazon Deforestation

by Ryan Grim, The Intercept

TWO BRAZILIAN FIRMS owned by a top donor to President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are significantly responsible for the ongoing destruction of the Amazon rainforest, carnage that has developed into raging fires that have captivated global attention. The companies have wrested control of land, deforested it, and helped build a controversial highway to their new terminal in the one-time jungle, all to facilitate the cultivation and export of grain and soybeans. The shipping terminal at Miritituba, deep in the Amazon in the Brazilian state of Pará, allows growers to load soybeans on barges, which will then sail to a larger port before the cargo is shipped around the world. The Amazon terminal is run by Hidrovias do Brasil, a company that is owned in large part by Blackstone, a major U.S. investment firm. Another Blackstone company, Pátria Investimentos, owns more than 50 percent of Hidrovias, while Blackstone itself directly owns an additional roughly 10 percent stake. Blackstone co-founder and CEO Stephen Schwarzman is a close ally of Trump and has donated millions of dollars to McConnell in recent years. “Blackstone is committed to responsible environmental stewardship,” the company said in a statement. “This focus and dedication is embedded in every investment decision we make and guides how we conduct ourselves as operators. In this instance, while we do not have operating control, we know the company has made a significant reduction in overall carbon emissions through lower congestion and allowed the more efficient flow of agricultural goods by Brazilian farmers.”

Political Report # 1310 Slave Labor, Deforestation and Greed Create Crisis in Brazilian Countryside

By Gabriel Leao, Americas Program

Many believe agribusiness pulled Brazil out of the worst recession in its history. Estimates for 2017 register a scant 0.4% growth after four years of crisis, according to the Boletim Focus from the National Central Bank. Agribusiness represents almost 23% of Brazil’s GDP. Although renewed growth is good news for the world’s 9th economy, progressive sectors of society worry that the rise of agribusiness hides severe labor and environmental costs. In October the Brazilian Ministry of Labor narrowed the official definition of what qualifies as “slave-like work” to include only situations in which the worker is deprived of freedom, be it through submission under threat of punishment from armed security guards or retention of documents, or debts. The ruling caused an uproar because it eliminated important criteria that included workplaces where workers face degrading conditions, exhausting work hours, and forced labor. The Ministry also announced it would cease publishing its “dirty list” of employers who subject workers to abusive and humiliating conditions. The government of conservative president Michel Temer decided that those names will only be made public if and when the labor minister decides to do so. Since 2003 when the list began, the list comprised mostly names of wealthy farmers. After widespread protests and national and international headlines, the government rescinded the controversial reforms to the criteria for slave work. Later in the year, the minister of labor, Ronaldo Nogueira, left the government to run for congress. Still smarting from the controversy and with unemployment on the rise, the nation still awaits the nomination of a new minister

Political Report # 1308 Argentina's Law on Forests Is Good, But Lacks Enforcement

By Daniel Gutman Inter Press Service

BUENOS AIRES, Jan 18 2018 (IPS) - Never in the parliamentary history of Argentina had something similar happened: one and a half million people in 2007 signed a petition asking the Senate to pass a law to reduce deforestation. The law was quickly approved, and promulgated on Dec. 26 of that year. But 10 years later, it has left a bittersweet taste. Researchers and environmental organisations admit that the law had positive impacts and slowed down the destruction of the country's native forests, caused to a large extent by the expansion of the agricultural frontier. But they warn that deforestation continues in areas where it is banned, and that the national government has shown a strong lack of interest in enforcing the law, reflected in the lack of funds necessary to finance conservation policies.

Political Report # 1223 Amazon Deforestation Rises as Government Moves to Weaken Indigenous Protections

An area deforested through forest fires in Pará state. Pará's Attorney General told Energydesk that regulators are facing heavy pressure from the agricultural lobby. Photo: Rogério Assis / Greenpeace By Anna Sophie Gross, Energydesk

The Brazilian government is changing the process for approving indigenous lands, with critics warning the country now risks sliding back after years of progress on climate and environment. The move to strip the country's National Indigenous Foundation (Funai) of its power on Indigenous land matters comes after the country saw a 30% rise in deforestation of tropical rainforests. Brazil's justice minister, Alexandre de Morates announced last week that decisions over demarcating Indigenous land will now be made by the ministry of justice. Environmentalists and political figures say the changes will weaken land rights of Indigenous communities and make it easier for agricultural firms to move into the Amazon where much of the land is located.

Political Report # 1197 Indigenous rights are key to preserving forests, climate change study finds

Ashaninka girls walk through a forest path as they return to their village in the Peruvian Amazon. Photograph: Rodrigo Abd/AP By Jonathan Watts, Guardian UK

Leaving forests in communal hands cuts carbon emissions from deforestation, helps communities and offers long-term economic benefits: ‘Everyone wins’ The world’s indigenous communities need to be given a bigger role in climate stabilisation, according to a new study that shows at least a quarter of forest carbon is stored on communal land, particularly in Brazil. The research by a group of academic institutions and environmental NGOs is the most comprehensive effort yet to quantify the contribution of traditional forest guardians to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Authors say the expansion of tribal land rights is the most cost-effective way to protect forests and sequester carbon - an issue that they hope will receive more prominence at the upcoming United Nations climate conference in Marrakech.