Brazil needs to keep an eye on development and conservation

A recent study by MapBiomas showed that Brazil’s native vegetation has suffered massively in the last 37 years, accounting for about one-third of the total deforestation since the arrival of the Portuguese in 1500. More specifically, 13.1 percent of the country’s land was deforested in this time period.

While much of this is to make way for agricultural expansion, timber extraction, and cattle grazing, another worrying reason is the development of multimillion-dollar projects, especially in modern times.

Since the beginning of the 1990s, there has been an increase in development near fishing communities in the Northeast of Brazil. In Prainha do Canto Verde, a small village in the Brazilian state of Ceará, a wind farm has left the community in disagreement over whether or not it is beneficial.

While the boom that followed the development of tourism in the town has sent rent and living costs skyrocketing for the community, the conservation of its natural resources suggests a reasonably successful development.

However, this is not always the case.

Privatization of open spaces such as dunes, disruption of fishing in interdunal lakes, loss of native vegetation, increased sand deposition, territorial conflicts, and cultural changes are factors that seem to outweigh the development of the local economy.

And now, what was once considered the second-most beautiful island in South America, Boipeba, is threatened by the development of a major tourism project backed by a group of Brazilian billionaires.

With the development currently on hold, it would be interesting to take the opportunity to stop thinking about how to turn small communities into tourist destinations and start thinking about the residents and wildlife that are not really interested in a 5-star hotel or an airstrip.

Read more here, and check out the full creation of this cartoon on The Brazilian Report’s TikTok (@brazilianreport) account!