A statement issued by Clóvis Cavalcanti on 12 September 2017
President-Elect, The International Society for Ecological Economics
The threat of destruction of protected Amazonian ecosystems requires us to take a stand. I have prepared a draft statement on the subject to be distributed widely, and not to remain simply on the ISEE website. I’d like to know if you agree with the following statement (see below). It is based on the text by Philip Fearnside, a respected member of ISEE.
ISEE statement on Brazilian environmental governance
As members of the International Society of Ecological Economics (ISEE), we wish to express our concern and astonishment at the surge of recent setbacks for environmental governance in Brazil, especially in the Amazon region. These include a series of concessions made by the presidential administration to the “ruralist” block that represents large landholders. Among the setbacks were lending support to legislative proposals to gut the environmental licensing system, signing what is known as the “land-thieves’ law” or “lei da grilagem” that will legalize many large illegal claims to public land in Amazonia, weakening criteria for definition of indigenous lands, and various measures to reduce Amazonian protected areas.
We call upon Brazilian authorities to reverse this disturbing trend, and we offer our assistance in quantifying the enormous value of the ecosystem services that the Brazilian government is sacrificing by its short-sighted policies.
Provide feedback by 15 October 2017 to cloviscavalcanti.tao@gmail.com.
