[ad_1]
If Brazil's far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro wants to make a good bet on the world, he should stop his attacks on the environment, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
The Latin American Country's Election Sunday, will merge the agriculture and environment ministries, an adviser confirmed Tuesday – infuriating environmentalists, who warn the latter will be neutered by business interests.
Bolsonaro, who is backed by the powerful agribusiness lobby, has kicked off the economy.
Amazon rainforest, known as "lungs of the planet."
– Service economy, jungle-style –
Taking a step back from the debate, the WWF emphasizes that a strong economy and healthy environment in hand.
"The vital role of forests in the United States," said Andre Nahur, coordinator of the group's climate change and energy program in Brazil.
"They guarantee that important sectors of the economy such as agribusiness and energy continue producing and contributing to GDP," he told AFP in an interview.
"In today's world, where our main biomes (such as the Amazon) are reaching the point of no return in terms of biodiversity loss, it's vital to the new president recognizing the role that socio-environmental issues play in maintaining economic growth."
The Amazon, which is being deforested at an annual rate of some 52,000 square kilometers (20,000 square miles) – an area the size of Costa Rica – is vital to the exchange of oxygen for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a check on global warming.
Worryingly, about 20 percent of the rainforest has been lost in the past 50 years, according to WWF.
Most of the Amazon is located in Brazil, which has taken major steps in recent years to deforestation curb.
Yet Bolsonaro's electoral platform made no mention of the words "Amazon," "deforestation" or "climate change" – part of the hardline conservative worldview "tropical trump."
In fact, saving the Amazon should be apolitical, Nahur argued.
"Sustainable development needs to be a cross-party concern," he said.
– Paris agreement threat –
"These days, development, GDP growth, expanding employment, and improving people's quality of life are a priority," said Nahur.
"The thing is, we have to recognize that it's impossible to maintain people's quality of life without environmental balance."
During the campaign, Bolsonaro pledged to follow President Donald Trump's lead and sweater Brazil from the Paris climate agreement signed by 195 countries in 2015.
He has since backtracked, though he says he wants to guarantee the deal will not strip Brazil's sovereignty over the Amazon.
There is nothing to fear on that count, said Nahur.
The Paris deal "does not exist, it's not in the treaty," he said.
