‘What’s at stake is the life of every being’: Saving the Brazilian Cerrado. (2021, February 15). Retrieved from https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/whats-at-stake-is-the-life-of-every-being-saving-the-brazilian-cerrado/
This article covers recent news about the Cerrado in Brazil: a biosphere home to many indigenous people and indigenous species of plants and animals. The area is currently in the news because Brazil’s new president (who is incredibly anti-pro-environmental policy) has hailed this area as an arid unfertile space that requires development. This designation invalidates the homes of the many people who live there, and the risk of development causes further strain on the environment. 52% of the Cerrado has been victim to deforestation in the past years for agricultural use. The Cerrado is currently the second-largest biosphere in Brazil outside of the Amazon. The improper designation that this environment needs to be altered or changed is incredibly false and pushes a harmful narrative. There have been many protests happening recently in the Cerrado led by indigenous people protecting their communities and improper land use.
This article shows how much further the fight for environmental justice is within our world. In pieces like these, it becomes evident that most people are attempting to save for the environment is naive and not everyone has the environment’s best interests at heart. This situation is also frustrating because the indigenous people who have lived in the Cerrado, are people who truly care for the environment and are the people who are best at taking care of their environment. The idea that development is needed to save these environments or to use this land that might not be fertile is false. Not only has this environment been inaccurately labeled, but the government is also practically feeding lies to Brazilians to promote development that will not be sustainable and can cause a lot of harm to the environment. This issue is an essential environmental justice one because if citizens are unable to understand what is truly at stake they’re going to be less likely to care about issues of environmental justice themselves.
I have heard about Brazil’s pro development/anti environment president quite a lot. I hadn’t heard about this story though. It is the epitome of environmental justice and is downright criminal in my opinion. You are right to point out that the local indigenous people, who have probably been there thousands of years are the ones who should remain stewards of the “infertile” lands. I have actually been there… to me it was more impressive than the Amazon Rainforest. So much incredible diversity. We fished for piranhas and saw caiman and capybara quite a lot. Did the story say anything about what the people can do, besides protest. Is there any legal leverage that can be applied to stop the movement to develop? (Great post for this sad story. I fully agree with your commentary.)