In Brazil, Soy Producers Seek License to Deforest the Amazon

dezembro, 12 2024

Unprecedented Attack on the Soy Moratorium Threatens the Preservation of the World's Largest Tropical Forest
In a year poised to be the hottest on record, with extreme weather events causing deaths and millions in losses in Brazil and globally, a group of Brazilian soybean farmers is launching an unprecedented attack on the Soy Moratorium. This multi-sector agreement among producers, traders, civil society, industries, and the government is considered one of the most successful environmental protection initiatives. It has allowed economic growth without a corresponding increase in Amazon deforestation—a critical global climate tipping point. Since its inception 18 years ago, deforestation directly caused by soybean production in the Amazon has significantly decreased, even as production has expanded. Despite this—and despite the Amazon's importance for global climate and rainfall patterns in south-central South America—Brazilian soybean farmers want to dismantle this agreement and gain a license to clear the world's largest tropical forest.

Read the full joint statement here 

The Soy Moratorium's primary value lies in establishing an origin control system that prevents soybeans linked to deforestation from entering the production chain. This system discourages soybean farmers from acquiring or invading new forest areas, knowing they will face difficulties selling their soybeans in the future. This mechanism aligns with global consumer desires to avoid contributing to the destruction of a biome that houses 10% of the world's biodiversity and with global climate, biodiversity, and trade agreements, such as the recent EU-Mercosur pact, which includes environmental safeguards.

The ongoing attack weakens the Moratorium's guarantees and paves the way for soybean frontier expansion to become an additional deforestation vector in the Amazon, which is already suffering from pasture expansion, mining, and logging. The world's largest tropical forest, spanning nine South American countries, has over half its area (60%) in Brazil, where nearly 20% of its native cover has already been lost, pushing it close to a point of no return. If this happens, the world will lose one of its largest carbon sinks, jeopardizing the Paris Agreement's goals.

The Soy Moratorium has curbed deforestation from soybean production expansion in the Amazon but hasn't hindered cultivation growth in the region. Since its implementation, the soybean-planted area in the Amazon has grown from 1.64 million hectares in 2007 to 7.28 million hectares in 2022, with only 250,000 hectares from areas deforested after 2008, the agreement's base year. This growth was possible because crops advanced over already cleared areas. Despite not preventing productive activity growth, some Brazilian soybean farmers are attacking the Soy Moratorium on multiple fronts, including the National Congress and Mato Grosso, Brazil's leading soybean-producing state. Mato Grosso alone produced 85.7 million tons of soybeans in the 2023/2024 harvest—75% more than Argentina's 50.5 million tons in the same period. The state recently passed a law, effective in 2025, eliminating tax benefits for companies adhering to the pact.

This law stipulates that companies participating in "agreements, treaties, or commitments that restrict agricultural expansion" in areas not protected by specific environmental legislation will lose tax incentives. If they uphold the Moratorium's commitments, companies purchasing soybeans in this and other Brazilian soy-producing states with similar projects will lose tax benefits and have their public land concessions canceled. They may also be required to return undue incentives and compensate the state for improper land use. On the other hand, if they abandon the Soy Moratorium to retain economic benefits, companies will have less evidence to defend themselves against accusations of purchasing soybeans from recently deforested areas. Besides reputational risk, there's a commercial risk in marketing soybeans to the EU, which aims to eliminate Amazon deforestation from its supply chains. This could become even more challenging if the Brazilian Congress passes a similar law currently under consideration.

These state and federal bills, driven by soy producers' pressure, could lead to the Soy Moratorium's collapse in 2025, opening the door for a new and powerful deforestation vector in the Amazon rainforest. If the Soy Moratorium is overturned, producers and companies investing in technology to meet 21st-century environmental challenges will suffer losses. Global consumers may unknowingly consume soybeans from deforestation. Brazilian farmers will also lose, as regular rainfall patterns depend on preserving the Amazon rainforest. Ultimately, Brazil will lose. In a year when global warming surpasses the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C target, ending the Soy Moratorium is a terrible signal for the host country of the next UN climate conference.

A group of 30 Brazilian organizations is denouncing the attack on the Soy Moratorium, releasing a manifesto against this coordinated effort. Signed by NGOs like Greenpeace, WWF-Brazil, Action Aid, World Animal Protection, and local organizations such as SOS Amazônia, IVC, Kabu Institute, and Centro de Trabalho Indigenista, the manifesto calls for strong public and private sector actions to rapidly and significantly reduce deforestation. The organizations demand that companies in the soy chain maintain their zero-deforestation commitment and participation in the Soy Moratorium. "Any attempt to relax the Moratorium to comply with these new laws represents an unacceptable setback, significantly limiting the ability to prevent the commercialization of products associated with Amazon destruction. This mechanism, which has already demonstrated significant environmental results, must continue its work," the text states.

Angela Mendes, Executive President of the Chico Mendes Committee says:

"Not long ago, our main environmental concern in Acre state was deforestation for cattle pasture, but recently, soybeans have dominated the landscape, especially in the Acre Valley, from Rio Branco to Assis Brasil municipalities. Soybeans concentrate land and accelerate social inequalities and violence against surrounding populations. The Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve, spread across the seven municipalities in Acre with the highest agribusiness concentration, represents the only resistance to deforestation and burning in this region. It resulted from Chico Mendes' intense struggle, resistance, and mobilization, but there's a serious risk that soybean-driven invasions could increase. Another danger, already seen in some reserve areas, is extensive pesticide use through aerial spraying, destroying subsistence crops like beans and corn and poisoning the population. This cannot continue. The government can't structurally combat these problems, and the only instrument to address this situation with care is the Soy Moratorium. However, agribusiness forces are trying to destroy this mechanism, and we cannot let this happen. If it does, the Amazon's end will be decreed once and for all."

Cristiane Mazzetti, Greenpeace Brazil Forests Front Coordinator states:

"There's strong pressure from agribusiness's most backward wings to eliminate all restrictions on predatory agriculture. The Soy Moratorium is the current target, and the attack won't stop. We ask participating companies not to bow to this pressure and not discard 18 years of Moratorium results, which they helped build. They need to stay in the agreement without promoting flexibilities, as its current format has greatly reduced soy's role in Amazon deforestation. Zero deforestation is a growing market demand, and the Moratorium is crucial in this effort, contributing to the global goal of keeping warming at 1.5°C."

Maurício Voivodic, executive director, WWF-Brasil highlights:

"The Amazon's preservation should be a top priority for rural producers already feeling the effects of climate change and altered rainfall patterns caused by biome deforestation. Science has proven the Amazon's importance for global climate and rainfall patterns in south-central South America, on which millions of people depend for electrical and water security. The Soy Moratorium has been a successful initiative, preventing deforestation from soybean expansion in the biome. Although signed nearly two decades ago, it aligns with global climate, biodiversity, and trade agreements, such as the recent EU-Mercosur pact with environmental safeguards. Today, it assures global consumers they aren't consuming soy from deforestation in the world's largest tropical forest. It's also a guarantee for exporters generating foreign currency for Brazil. For Brazil, the Soy Moratorium is a credibility element for hosting the next climate conference, as Amazon deforestation is a severe threat to global climate stability."

Edilene Fernandes, Legal Consultant at Observa-MT comments:

"The Soy Moratorium aims to eliminate deforestation in the soybean production chain in the Amazon biome, and several scientific studies have proven its success. However, the agreement is constantly under attack and faces national restrictions, like the recent Mato Grosso state law removing tax incentives for companies signing trade agreements to reduce deforestation in their supply chains. With the Moratorium, soybean expansion in native vegetation in Mato Grosso dropped from 30% to 1%. We need to defend this important instrument for sustainable development, which is why Observa-MT signed the manifesto, knowing all efforts are necessary to confront the Soy Moratorium's dismantling in our country."

Alice Thuault, Executive Director of the Instituto Centro de Vida (ICV) states:

"The approval of these bills by state legislatures and executives, aimed at dismantling this crucial tool for reducing deforestation,  clearly shows a lack of commitment to the climate crisis."






 
Produtores de soja lideram ataques à Moratória da Soja, que desde 2008 reduz o desmatamento sem impedir o crescimento da produção.
Soy producers are leading attacks on the Soy Moratorium, which has been reducing deforestation since 2008 without hindering production growth
© Jacqueline Lisboa / WWF-Brasil
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