(Translation from English)

There are fewer planes in the sky and fewer cars on the roads: Covid-19 lockdowns have benefited the environment. Why is this situation harming tropical rainforests?

Tropical forests are home to much that is unknown to humans, which could radically affect our lives. Our ability to coexist with these forests will determine our future, by accelerating or slowing down the spread of pandemics and climate change. BBC Travel and Future Planet investigate both sides of the human-forest relationship.

At first glance, it would seem that the various lockdowns keeping many people from leaving their homes could be very beneficial for the environment. Pollution in cities has decreased, wild animals are increasingly being seen in urban areas, and new cycle paths are being built in many places. Excellent!

For the world's tropical forest regions, it is a different story. Environmental agencies have reported an increase in deforestation*, poaching, animal trafficking, and illegal mining observed during the lockdowns. According to environmental experts, the trends are worrying and... could be difficult to reverse.

According to Conservation International Executive Vice President Sebastian Troeng (Sebastian Troeng), “the situation in cities and suburbs regarding lockdowns and related measures differs from the situation that has emerged in this regard in rural areas.”

S. Troeng claims that it is too early to publish detailed data on the scale of the problem since the start of the lockdowns, but his organisation receives reports of increased logging almost daily. Brazil and Colombia are seeing an increase in illegal logging and mining; Philippine authorities have reported illegal logging and wildlife trafficking; reports have been received from Kenya regarding poaching (including for ivory), as well as an increase in charcoal production, which has been illegal since 2018; in Cambodia, poaching, illegal logging, and mining have increased; similar reports have come from Venezuela and Madagascar.

There are also concerns about what is happening in Malaysia and Indonesia, where deforestation rates are the highest in Southeast Asia, while in Ecuador, local communities have reported an increase in illegal mining in the Choco (Choco) and Amazon rainforests.

In Indonesia, forests are being rapidly cleared, which contributes to long-lasting and devastating forest fires.

S. Troeng believes that two factors may be driving these trends. First: criminal groups and opportunists expanding their operations by taking advantage of the opportunities provided by lockdowns, such as reduced forest monitoring and government oversight. The second is the economic factor. People living in these regions are facing increased economic pressure and are being forced to rely more on nature for food and income. A large migration from cities to rural areas has been observed in Madagascar and Cambodia, as people lose their jobs in cities during the quarantine or return home to be with their families. This has all created additional pressure on the local environment.

“I am worried both when seeing these new trends and knowing that, when Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, nothing will change, because these trends are linked to economic factors. I expect we will be dealing with them for many years to come,” says S. Troeng.

The loss of rainforests has foreseeable and very serious consequences. For local populations, this means the destruction of their way of life and can lead to conflict with lawbreakers encroaching on their territory. Research shows that the destruction of rainforest ecosystems increases the potential for new pathogens to spread. These pathogens can jump from animals to humans. This harms our ability to cope with the consequences of climate change, as tropical forests play a decisive role in absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Losses in the Amazon basin

One of S. Troeng’s biggest concerns is the Amazon basin, which is experiencing unprecedented levels of deforestation, increased illegal mining, and the spread of Covid-19 among Amazon basin communities. “I am very concerned about the simultaneous impact of several negative factors.”

The increasing number of reports of increased logging in the Amazon basin during the Covid-19 lockdown indicates a lack of capacity for action by the Brazilian government.

On 28 February 2020, Brazil confirmed its first case of coronavirus. Since then, most of the economy has ground to a halt as national and local government authorities implement Covid-19 lockdowns. However, deforestation has not stopped. According to data from the national space research agency INPE (National Institute for Space Research), rainforest destruction in April increased by 64% compared to the same month in 2019. In the first four months of 2020, rainforest destruction increased by 55% compared to the same period the previous year, clearing an area of 1,202 square kilometres.

“We see that people are not afraid to illegally log forests because, apparently, they think the government is distracted by the crisis and not paying attention to loggers,” says Ane Alencar (Ane Alencar), Director of Science at the Brazilian environmental organisation IPAM. “Such actions are driven by opportunistic motives.”

In March, two national environmental protection agencies – Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) and ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation) – reduced their forest monitoring activities. They explained this by citing mobility restrictions that hinder the agencies' ability to carry out their assigned tasks, as they cannot risk the health of staff or residents while attempting to maintain regular services.

Ane Alencar claims that most illegal logging in 2020 occurred through the seizure of public land. Data published by IPAM shows that in the first three months of 2020, 53% of logging took place on public lands not intended for this purpose, protected areas, and indigenous territories in the Amazon basin, compared to 38% last year (2019). The deforested areas will likely be converted into pastures.

Deforestation in Brazil has increased since last year, when President Jair Bolsonaro (Jair Bolsonaro) took office. Shortly after being sworn in, he advocated for the development of Amazon rainforest territories, including indigenous reserves, calling for “freeing local inhabitants from poverty”. In May 2020, J. Bolsonaro authorised the army to deploy in the Amazon region to prevent fires and illegal logging. However, environmentalists believe that this will not solve the problem in the long term. Ane Alencar and other environmental activists believe the president's policy has encouraged land grabbing, illegal mining, and deforestation.

Forest fires

Conservationists are concerned that rising forest losses during the Covid-19 lockdowns in the dry season will cause even larger forest fires in Brazil compared to 2019. Forest fires in the Amazon rainforest usually occur in the dry season, when people use fire to convert forest into agricultural land. Brazil saw an 84% increase in fires in 2019 compared to the same period in 2018. Smoke from the fires created a serious public health threat, causing respiratory illnesses for residents in towns near the fires.

Along with timber harvesting, Amazon rainforest areas are being deforested for livestock farming and crop cultivation.

Many Brazilian hospitals are overwhelmed treating Covid-19 patients. In early May 2020, the country was declared the new global epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic. “This is already a nightmare that will triple,” predicts Ane Alencar.

In Brazil's neighbour, Colombia, an increase in the number of forest fires was also observed in the first months of 2020. According to the Amazon Institute for Scientific Research (SINCHI) (Amazon Institute for Scientific Research), 12,953 hotspots were registered in the country in March – thermal anomalies indicating an increased likelihood of forest fires. This is almost three times more than the 4,691 hotspots detected in the same month in 2019. Although hotspots do not always result in fires, they carry a very high risk of fire; scientists conclude that forest fires eventually occur in 93% of registered hotspots.

Miguel Pacheco (Miguel Pacheco), Natural Resources and Livelihoods Coordinator in cooperation with WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) in Colombia, believes that Covid-19 quarantine measures are not the reason for the increase in the number of hotspots, but they may exacerbate the problem. Since the end of March 2020, when restrictions were introduced in Colombia, the number of monitoring flights conducted by the armed forces has significantly decreased. This gave various groups the opportunity to exploit the lack of environmental control and continue deforesting areas for use as pasture or for coca and other crop cultivation for as long as the quarantine measures continue.

According to Miguel Pacheco, environmental agencies have reported an increase in illegal logging, wildlife trafficking, and poaching of large South American cats since the start of the quarantine.

In Colombia, Covid-19 lockdowns have triggered a series of social changes which, in turn, have encouraged deforestation. Rainforest destruction has caused serious concern since 2016, when FARC rebels and the Colombian government signed a peace treaty. When the rebels left the jungle territories they previously controlled, they became available for free use. Instead, other armed groups and organised crime gangs in many places began deforesting rainforest areas for use as pastures, for example, in the Amazon basin regions of Caqueta, Meta, and Guaviare (Caqueta, Meta, Guaviare).

In Colombia, deforestation is resulting in an increasing number of hotspots, where forest fires are likely to occur one day.

The introduction of lockdowns in the country has halted the implementation of various government programmes in remote Amazon jungle regions that lack access to schools, hospitals, or other public services. This has created a further vacuum between forest monitoring bodies, NGOs, and government institutions.

“Everything is currently in a kind of waiting mode, and I am convinced that only later will the data reveal what actually happened in these territories,” expresses Carolina Gil (Carolina Gil), North-West Amazon Regional Director for the Amazon Conservation Team in Colombia, who is working from home in Bogota during the lockdown. C. Gil reports having heard stories even before the lockdowns were introduced that guards in Amazon national parks and protected areas had received death threats and orders to leave their posts.

The road back

C. Gil is aware that the solution to preventing unauthorised activities is not at all simple. It involves more effective forest monitoring measures by the government, action against organised crime, and the development of programmes to support communities living in rainforest regions. People living in cities and other countries must also help to understand the consequences of tropical deforestation by forcing them to think about what connection consumer habits might have to deforestation – from beef to cocaine.

“We need to make more thoughtful and stronger decisions against deforestation, which are not always limited to the jungle. It can also happen in the regions where relevant economic decisions are made,” warns C. Gil.

Looking long-term, conservationists agree that the solution to saving the world's tropical forests involves close cooperation with local communities, empowering them to be active guardians of nature in their territories.

In some cases, this includes supporting the traditional way of life of indigenous people – living in harmonious unity with nature. In other cases, it would be the development of sustainable alternative income streams outside of ecotourism projects. This strategy has become a popular conservation strategy over the years, but as the current global health and economic crisis shows, it is not always reliable. S. Troeng mentions possible ways for government and local community collaboration, for example, the government paying local communities for the work of forest rangers, participating in the implementation of forest restoration projects, or collaborating with local residents in developing sustainable forest products, such as honey and its products, or helping to harvest bamboo.

Helping local residents to sustainably manage rainforest land is one way to slow down deforestation in the region.

Miguel Pacheco reports that in Colombia, deforestation hotspots in 2018 decreased to 70%, which is a result of local community involvement in forest and landscape management programmes. This happened in the aforementioned Amazon regions of Guaviare and Caqueta.

In the short term, according to S. Troeng, it is important for the government to prioritise tropical forest territories and remain focused on specific actions. He cites two examples where this is happening. In the Philippines, the government, upon learning of the increase in illegal logging, wildlife trafficking, and fishing in the country, publicly announced that such activities would not be tolerated and set about combating these violations. In Peru, the national agency that monitors protected areas has not stopped its operations for a single day and, if necessary, conducts patrols and enforces environmental regulations, despite Covid-19.

It is important that decision-makers around the world are informed about events in the Amazon basin and tropical forest regions elsewhere if they are thinking about investing resources in economic recovery. “Such an opportunity exists,” claims S. Troeng. “Let us consider how we can reverse negative trends in the fight against climate change.”

C. Gil believes that rainforest deforestation is unlikely to be prevented even if lockdowns are lifted. Economic pressures will remain, as well as opportunities to exploit rainforests. The illegal economy often operates faster than the ability of governments and NGOs to develop and implement nature conservation strategies. Of course, the longer illegal activities in tropical forest areas are not curtailed or eradicated, the more difficult it will be to prevent damage to these ecosystems and rainforest communities. This encourages us to think as quickly as possible about new ways to combat deforestation, both in the tropical zone and in other countries.
*in this article “deforestation” means clearing forests, converting forest areas into land meant for livestock or crops