Deforestation could lead to permanent damage to the Amazon, warns World Bank

The document “Delicate Balance for the Brazilian Legal Amazon: An Economic Memorandum”, released by the World Bank on Tuesday (9), points out that deforestation in the Amazon region is linked to activities such as livestock farming, the expansion of the agricultural frontier and mining. And rampant deforestation could take the forest to a point where it would no longer be possible to reverse its harmful effects.

Posted by

Marcela Guimarães

May 10, 2023 11:01 PM

The World Bank points out what environmentalists and NGOs have been saying for some time: the standing forest is worth more – in terms of money – than what can be gained by exploiting its resources through clearing and destruction.

According to the institution, deforestation also destroys more than 317 billion dollars per year (calculated value of the standing forest). This value would be equivalent to up to seven times the estimated value of private exploitation linked to extensive agriculture, logging or mining.

The so-called “value of the standing forest” refers to the money that circulates through the exploitation of services such as tourism or the production of non-timber products, in addition to carbon storage.

“As a public good, the value of the Brazilian tropical forest includes its ecosystem services, which, for the South American region alone, are estimated at 20 billion dollars annually. These services include the rain needed for agriculture in the region and protection against soil erosion and fires”, says the study.

“The global public values associated with the standing forest are even greater, mainly due to the role of the Legal Amazon as a carbon sink: the annual value of carbon storage is estimated at 210 billion dollars, with the option and existence value linked to biodiversity and forest cover totaling another 75 billion dollars. The sustainable private use values of the standing forest are estimated at 12 billion dollars annually. Therefore, the cost of inaction is high, both in the Amazon Forest and in other biomes of the Legal Amazon”, he adds.

The study

Prepared over three years, the material released by the World Bank states that the increase in income of the population of the Legal Amazon is directly related to greater protection of the forest, traditional ways of life and reduced deforestation.

Therefore, it is essential to “foster greater productivity growth, both in Brazil and in the Amazon states”.

The Bank states that this increase in productivity in rural and urban areas will require a structural transformation, maintaining preservation.

“Long-term success in combating deforestation will require a broader structural transformation of the economy, which reduces the focus on the agricultural frontier, through strengthening the manufacturing and services sectors,” said World Bank director for Brazil, Johannes Zutt, during the presentation of the document.

(With Brazil Agency)