Although Brazil’s Independence brings nostalgia, we believe in a possible future with lots of biodiversity.
September 7th marks the celebration of Brazil's Independence - 201 years ago, on the banks of Ipiranga river, a culminating moment of a dramatic process from Portuguese colony to independent nation.
In spite of being proud of Brazilian culture, we are reflective of the country’s near future possible outcome as we want wealth and better purchasing power. Even those who wish for housing, food security, and access to higher education usually forget what makes all this happen - all natural resources, specifically our standing forest.
The global economy directly depends on biodiversity in all economic sectors of society, from rural to urban activities. The economic value of biodiversity also accounts as a whole process from the extraction of natural resources and raw materials, from the manufacturing industry to the customer, all economic chains depend on species and ecosystems.
“It is worth mentioning a fact pointed out in the Global Panorama 3 report, by the executive director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), that deforestation and degradation represent losses in the economy from 2 to 4.5 trillion dollars. And the investment value for conservation is much lower, the estimate is that it is a rate of 1 to 100, that is, you invest 1 dollar in conservation and you earn 100 dollars avoiding economic losses", says Cláudio Maretti, WWF-Brazil Conservation Superintendent.
The Amazon is worth seven times more, about R$1.5 trillion a year, says the World Bank. “In economic terms, deforestation is a huge destruction of wealth, it threatens the global climate, it threatens extraordinary biodiversity and traditional ways of life and communities”, says economist Marek Hanusch, leader and coordinator of the report Delicate Balance for the Brazilian Legal Amazon.
Finding a balance requires complex answers, and so the country has to change its growth sources, decrease the agricultural boundary expansion and increase productivity in sectors such as industry and services.
Valuing ecosystem processes is a better deal for Brazil, as it plays a crucial role in preserving the environment and better means of living for its people.
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