Rafael Feltran-Barbieri

By Rafael Feltran-Barbieri, Bruno Felin and Alex Simpkins In the Brazilian Amazon, economic growth has often gone hand-in-hand with exploiting the rainforest. The region’s economy, and Brazil as a whole, rely heavily on farming, mining and other resource-intensive activities that deplete the Amazon. It’s why many people see deforestation as a necessary and inevitable part of growing the country’s economy and providing for its people.

In the Brazilian Amazon, economic growth has often gone hand-in-hand with exploiting the rainforest. The region’s economy, and Brazil as a whole, rely heavily on farming, mining and other resource-intensive activities that deplete the Amazon. It’s why many people see deforestation as a necessary and inevitable part of growing the country’s economy and providing for its people. But protecting the Amazon doesn’t have to mean shrinking Brazil’s GDP or turning back the clock on development.

Agriculture and land use change account for up to a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions and are a major cause of deforestation and ecosystem degradation. The misallocation of farm subsidies — which have risen globally from an annual $325 billion in 2000 to $619 billion today — is driving much of this destruction. Without reform, these subsidies will render vast expanses of healthy land useless.