Paragominas has halted deforestation to become a model of sustainable growth in a region charred by wildfires a shaded boardwalk winds through the forest to a green-hued lake complete with lily pads and a sculpted serpent rising from the waters Macaws squawk in the canopy near a soaring sumaúma tree But Paragominas has escaped the worst of the rainforest’s climate-crisis events. Even as seasonal burnings ravaged its neighbours this fast-growing town in Pará state remained comparatively unscathed by wildfires The soot and ash darkening the city skyline late this year was mostly secondhand smoke blown in from blazes elsewhere Forest cleared for charcoal production in Paragominas 21 years ago when Brazilian rainforests were being cut down at a record pace Photograph: Cavan Images/AlamyIn a region battered by predatory logging and ranching Paragominas is the story of a reversal of fortune this was a boomtown with ruthless ambitions Brazilian rainforests were being razed at a record pace prompting international outcry and a federal crackdown Miscreant municipalities were fined and collectively barred from taking farm loans That was the view at the timeAdnan Demachki ex-mayor of ParagominasWith its forest-gobbling ranchers bootleg loggers and dodgy sawmill operators this sprawling township the size of Israel was a big red flag Environmentalists railed; investors kept their distance but we were the best-known municipality on the blacklist,” says Demachki shut down predatory logging and morphed into that rare thing in Amazonia: a frontier community that conserved as it grew Paragominas was one of the Amazon’s epicentres of deforestation and timber extraction which reduced deforestation by 80%,” says Beto Veríssimo “Controlling deforestation turned the township into a magnet for investment and economic growth.” religious leaders and farmers for an emergency summit He concluded that Brazilian politics did not offer a solution the pact pledged to end illegal deforestation by 2010 replant forests and put conservation on the school curriculum Landowners were obliged to declare their holdings with digital coordinates on a geo-referenced property registry giving inspectors a drone’s view of the countryside By 2010, 80% of landholders had complied, two years before the registry became national law with a third of rural properties verified by inspectors compared with just 1.4% of validation nationwide The municipality fined environmental violators closed unofficial sawmills and banned smelters of pig-iron from stoking their charcoal kilns with wood from the rainforest The campaign earned him national headlines a landslide re-election victory – and a mutiny among ranchers A week later a mob attacked the park grounds torched Ibama’s offices and hijacked the trucks with the confiscated hardwood an executive order was out of the question so Demachki suggested the signatories to the deforestation pact reconvene “Any decision had to be by community consensus,” he says One of about 60 sawmills in Paragominas where decades of intensive logging left almost no virgin forest standing nearby Photograph: Axel Bugge/ReutersHe arrived at the meeting hall with two letters he apologised to the nation for the mayhem then implored the people of the town to renew their commitment to keep Paragominas green; the other was his resignation Free newsletterGet a different world view with a roundup of the best news As it happened, Paragominas’s path to ignominy stretched back much further. Year zero was 1959, when the then president, Juscelino Kubitschek, climbed on to a bulldozer and toppled a great jatobá tree, symbolically clearing the way for a new Amazon highway. His declared mission was to “rip open” the rainforest” had been crushed to death by a falling tree in a botched forest clearance “The jungle was the enemy; that was the view at the time,” says Demachki Amazon municipalities often pay the price for environmental decisions made higher upAmanda OliveiraFounded a few miles from the highway the home states of most migrants to the area – quickly became home to pioneers Land-grabbing and shootouts were so commonplace that the town was nicknamed “Paragobala” (Paragobullet) Fraudulent property titles flooded the market thanks to a class of con artists known as grileiros – after the popular ruse of “antiquing” deeds by sealing them in a box full of grilos (crickets in Portuguese) One of the mahogany trees cut for export near Paragominas when the area’s loggers were known as among ‘the country’s worst forest predators’ Photograph: Dylan Garcia Travel/AlamyYet by the turn of the century Demachki’s town hall brinkmanship paid off and the municipality doubled down on its green commitments Demachki tore up his resignation letter and launched his second mayoral term There have been setbacks: clear-cutting spiked in 2022, the last year under the far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro which landed Paragominas back on Brazil’s environmental watchlist The city later traced the surge in felling to permits issued by state and federal authorities then quickly flagged and punished the transgressors “Amazon municipalities often pay the price for environmental decisions made higher up,” says Amanda Oliveira “Paragominas transformed from one of the country’s worst forest predators to one of the leaders of environmental governance in the Amazon,” says Tasso Azevedo a forestry expert and former director general of the Brazilian Forest Service In 2023, Paragominas earned the 80th-highest score on the environment index of 5,570 townships nationwide. Income by head has more than doubled since 2010, and primary school test scores are up 60% since 2007. That does not seem to intimidate Demachki since he has discovered the path to change “There’s no substitute for sitting down and thrashing out your differences.” This story was produced with support from the Rainforest Journalism Fund in partnership with the Pulitzer Center Your gateway to environmental health knowledge Join the Environmental Health News community has transformed into a beacon of sustainable development reducing deforestation by 80% and earning recognition as a "green municipality." Mac Margolis reports for The Guardian. “Paragominas transformed from one of the country’s worst forest predators to one of the leaders of environmental governance in the Amazon.” Paragominas demonstrates that local action and community consensus can reverse environmental destruction offering a hopeful model for addressing the Amazon’s ecological and climate challenges Paragominas shows that even in a place scarred by exploitation regeneration isn’t just possible — it’s powerful Read more: EU’s new climate change plan will cause biodiversity loss and deforestation. hand-picked by our editors and researchers We offer a host of daily and weekly options Nonprofit organizations MADE SAFE and Plastic Pollution Coalition released the new Healthy Pregnancy Guideto help parents-to-be navigate the challenges of making healthier living choices for babies and the planet a newsroom powered by Environmental Health Sciences It all improves the health of our communities IN SHORT: A video of a tanker truck exploding on the side of the road has been circulating on social media Claims that the incident took place in South Africa’s Limpopo province are false “That Limpopo explosion that took place today is crazy,” reads a common caption for a video that has been circulating on social media in South Africa since 4 July 2024 “Hope everyone who was trying to help survived.” The dramatic 12-second clip shows what seems to be a burning tanker truck on the side of a road. Almost immediately it explodes and flames cover the screen The rest of the video shows the camera tumbling to capture random images as someone cries out Others are highly critical “Why are people of this calibre given responsibility that is clearly beyond them?” one caption reads “If this is ‘equality’ or ‘equity’ is it is also murder and destruction but we can't change the nature of the beast or its privileges.” But does the video really show a “crazy” explosion in South Africa’s Limpopo province Get a weekly dose of facts delivered straight to your inbox The viral claim most likely began with a post from a verified X account (formerly Twitter) on 4 July But in the comments, other X users were quick to slam the post: “You can see Those road markings are not for South African roads.” Wanya. You can see Those road markings are not for South African roads pic.twitter.com/utJ2HwdD0D Another commented: “This is a Propane explosion that happened on the BR-010 near the Paragominas Palace Hotel in Brazil.” This is a Propane explosion that happened on the BR-010 near the Paragominas Palace Hotel in Brazil. https://t.co/WZsBDMzkGf The comment includes a link to a Portuguese-language news article that includes the video. Brazil is a country in South America A machine translation of the headline reads: “Tanker truck explodes after accident on highway in Pará; videos show moment.” the day before the viral claim appeared online A Google search using the keywords “tanker explosion Pará Brazil” led to several other news reports on the incident all of which placed it in the South American country There have been no news reports of a recent tanker explosion in South Africa’s Limpopo One of the comments on the original X post suggested that the false claim was simply to garner views: “Atleast you'll get the views There have been concerns that monetisation is feeding sensationalist disinformation on the platform In October 2023, Musk threatened to demonetise X creators who posted false information “Any posts that are corrected by Community Notes become ineligible for revenue share,” he posted This came after the European Union challenged Musk to clamp down on the site’s false content, which is illegal under the EU’s Digital Services Act The act aims to ensure a “safe predictable and trusted online environment addressing the dissemination of illegal content online and the societal risks that the dissemination of disinformation or other content may generate” You can republish the text of this article free of charge, both online and in print. However, we ask that you pay attention to these simple guidelines as in most cases we do not own the copyright 3. Make sure you credit "Africa Check" in the byline and don't forget to mention that the article was originally published on africacheck.org A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false” Click on our guide for the steps you should follow The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram public figures need to be held to account for what they say non-partisan organisation which assesses claims made in the public arena using journalistic skills and evidence drawn from the latest online tools sorting fact from fiction and publishing the results Help us keep it that way by supporting our work Africa Check values your trust and is committed to the responsible management, use and protection of personal information. See our privacy policy. Support independent fact-checking in Africa The Paragominas bauxite mine is located in the east of the state of Pará in Northern Brazil Late Tertiary and early Quaternary sediments The Paragominas bauxite mine is located in the east of the state of Pará in Northern Brazil one of the world’s richest sources of bauxite Fully owned by Brazil’;s Vale (CVRD) the mine commenced operations in 2007 and currently boasts annual capacity of 5.4 million tons a year Around $196m will be invested in stage one of the mine’s expansion with a view to push production up to 9.9 million tons a year This was to have been completed by April 2008 in line with the third expansion undertaken by majority-Vale-owned alumina manufacturer Alunorte To date Vale has invested $352m in the plant In August 2008 Vale kicked off its $1.1bn expansion of the Paragominas refinery which is supposed to increase the plant’s output by almost 50% to 6.3 million tons a year making it the second biggest refinery in the world Paragominas lies within the eastern Amazon region and the Maranhão Basin where it would seem to have been developed in late Tertiary and early Quaternary sediments The bauxitic zone extends over at least 1,000km² with an average thickness 2.2 ±1m and estimated resources of more than 1Gt of bauxite Reserves in 2004 were estimated at 878Mt (USGS) The Palaeozoic tectonic regime in the continental interior of Brazil produced a series of large sedimentary basins Reactivation in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic caused further uplift resulting in substantial erosion of the Brazilian platform The concomitant build-up of sediments in the low-lying area was extensive and continued into Quaternary time Bauxite from the Paragominas Mine has average content of 50% applicable alumina and a granulometry level below 65in with 12%-13% humidity Paragominas lies three degrees south of the equator with annual average rainfall of 1,700mm with a pronounced dry season from July to November The ore will be flushed with water along 244km pipe which started operations in 2007 and is the only one of its kind in the alumina industry The Paragominas mine utilises the strip mining technique The mine also has an improvement plant with grinding facilities and a mineral ducts with a 244km extension to transport the bauxite in pulp form to Alunorte The Paragominas bauxite mine currently has an annual capacity of 5.4 million tons This is expected to increase to almost ten million tons after completion of the first mine expansion currently underway Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network ResearchBack to the forestBrazil's rainforest rebounds as a long-view investment in research and local talent pays off.A city park in Paragominas the city was the epicenter of rainforest destruction in Brazil's Amazon basin The research institute founded by Penn State ecologist Chris Uhl has been instrumental in halting deforestation and turning Paragominas into a thriving and healthy community That was the brusque advice I got as I boarded the bus for Paragominas. The year was 1996, and Penn State ecologist Chris Uhl had invited me to Brazil to visit Imazon the small research institute he had founded near the mouth of the Amazon The prospects for the rainforest seemed bleak, and Uhl wanted me to witness the epicenter of that bleakness. In an article for this magazine I described arriving in Paragominas late at night: The sharp smell of woodsmoke began to seep through the bus’ sealed windows in the hills on either side of the highway there began to appear a strange orange glow Paragominas boasted well over 200 operating sawmills It was the largest raw-lumber producer in Brazil it would sit atop the federal government’s “black list” of counties with the highest rates of deforestation the smoke has cleared and the sawmills are gone replaced by clean industry and manicured parks Paragominas is officially a Municipio Verde or “Green Municipality,” a model for sustainable development Deforestation there has essentially stopped there has been an 80 percent drop in deforestation across the whole of the Brazilian Amazon a figure touted as the single greatest reduction of carbon emissions ever achieved by humankind This remarkable transformation is due to a convergence of factors, both political and economic. But Imazon the innovative organization that Uhl willed into life 25 years ago has played a critical role in bringing it about Understanding the ProblemIt started in the mid-1980s found themselves working in the degraded pasturelands surrounding Paragominas Uhl had considered becoming a medical doctor before getting his Ph.D. and was fascinated by the emerging field of disturbance ecology “I was drawn to the areas that had been wounded,” he says Prevailing wisdom held that those wounds would never heal that the slash-and-burn practices of the loggers and ranchers flooding into the area would soon turn the fragile rainforest into a desert Uhl and Nepstad were surprised by the resiliency they saw “It was way too early to write off the Amazon as a system that was irrevocably damaged,” Uhl says Their findings acutely challenged the status quo—and an overheated political climate made things even stickier “It was a difficult time in Brazil, especially in the Amazon region,” says Adalberto Verissimo Verissimo was then an agronomy student from Brazil’s impoverished northeast keen to do whatever he could to save the rainforest The military dictatorship that had held power since before he was born had just ended The country would soon have its first presidential election in a generation The building of the Trans-Amazonia highway had opened the interior to unprecedented development but by the late 1980s government investment in the region had dried up and the newly profitable logging industry had devolved into a free-for-all rising criticism from abroad stoked anger at foreign interference A New Kind of NGOWhat was missing from that volatile mix Very little careful work had been done on deforestation and important facets of the problem had been misunderstood or ignored Armed with a grant from the MacArthur Foundation he and a colleague from the University of Wisconsin conspired to start a new kind of non-governmental organization it would focus on research—but research squarely aimed at solving a dire real-world problem Its sole purpose would be to provide the kind of high-quality information that Uhl believed would enable policymakers and other stakeholders to make environmentally conscious decisions The purity of his vision was regarded by many as naïve—even McGrath soon left the project would be to draft young Brazilians fresh out of school a dozen students whose idealism and passion might as yet be undimmed But that choice presented huge challenges of its own since Uhl’s charges were as green as they were eager had to be convinced that impartial research "It was way too early to write off the Amazon as a system that was irrevocably damaged." the first few years were a period of intense struggle “It was the hardest time of my life,” Uhl says “My hair went from blond to gray in about three years.” Verissimo just understanding the reality of the forest,” he says they were getting a crash course in academic practice and we had to learn how to write papers that would be publishable in quality journals It was a very high standard we had to achieve in a short period of time.” “We would do things 30 or 40 times before they were good enough,” Verissimo says And while they were earning their academic chops they also had to learn to see beyond good guys vs “It was not a conscious ideological choice,” Uhl remembers “Imazon was so field-based that if we wanted to learn about logging just trying to carve a life out of this wilderness based on this trust that was established face to face.”  by demonstrating that logging could be done sustainably and without sacrificing profit or the well-being of the forest The team produced training manuals and best-practices videos grounded in painstaking comparative research They developed a comprehensive forest-management plan that became widely adopted Tools of ChangeBy the time I visited Brazil, the training phase was pretty much complete. The young scientists and policy analysts I met at Imazon’s modest headquarters in the city of Belém were a formidable group. Several, including Verissimo and eventual co-director Carlos Souza Jr. Their work had already started to transform logging practice “The big card we had was that Imazon was respected,” Uhl remembers their poise—they were just a class act.” In the ensuing years these attributes would prove vital to the role the institute would play in shaping Brazil’s environmental policy Imazon turned to a second major focus: identifying and prioritizing vast unclaimed areas of forest to protect them against haphazard development “Nobody was talking about this at the time,” Verissimo says “but we realized that if we wanted to stop deforestation we would have to close the frontier.”    the institute produced a series of maps and reports proposing a tiered system of conservation units the federal government finally moved to create large-scale environmental reserves Imazon’s information proved vitally important nearly half a million square kilometers—an area well over the size of California—had been set aside for preservation At the same time, Imazon was pushing ahead in the area of remote sensing, pioneering the use of satellite imagery for essentially real-time monitoring of forest destruction. The Deforestation Alert System (SAD) provides government agencies and the media with monthly reports of deforestation activity The availability of this data has been a game changer for the first time putting teeth into government enforcement efforts and enabling crackdowns on illegal logging and ranching Something for the WorldIn 2010, Imazon won the prestigious Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, a major international honor. Its work has been celebrated in The Economist and the New York Times and the latest iteration of the SAD is supported by a partnership with Google Now 25 years old and with a staff of about 40 the institute recently expanded its monitoring efforts to include all South American countries that are part of the Amazon Basin and Verissimo recently laid out an ambitious goal for the decade ahead: reducing deforestation to zero “there were a thousand people in the audience,” Verissimo remembers After the screening of a video describing their work the researchers were treated to a standing ovation that went on for several minutes “This told us we had done something important for the world something that has resonance across the globe,” he says Much of Imazon's impact can be traced to the foundation Uhl struggled to build Having birthed Imazon and helped it gain its feet when he realized that his next call was to devote himself to raising ecological consciousness back home first by leading a three-year student-driven research project that wound up laying the groundwork for Penn State’s institutional commitment to sustainability the basic environmental science course for non-majors into something he likes to call “Awaken 101.” He marvels quietly that the organization he launched has had such an impact on the life of the rainforest can be traced to the foundation Uhl struggled to build and the culture he worked so hard to create “These are the things Chris taught us,” Verissimo says This story first appeared in the Spring 2016 issue of Research/Penn State magazine As a global specialist in sectors ranging from renewables and infrastructure to technology Macquarie has deep expertise and capabilities in these areas We are a global financial services organisation with Australian heritage We offer our investors a track record of unbroken profitability We believe in a workplace where every person is valued for their uniqueness and where different views and ideas are embraced Follow the links to find the logins you’re looking for: The Norwegian aluminium company has a target to reduce carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 20301 and has been building out its global renewable energy business Macquarie initially partnered with Norsk Hydro to develop and structure power purchase agreements (PPAs) that have helped the heavy industry player reduce its carbon footprint. This partnership has enabled the development of 1.3­­ GW of renewable energy capacity.2 More recently, MAM has been working with Norsk Hydro’s renewables business, Hydro Rein, in Brazil. Norsk Hydro was seeking a source of long-term renewable energy, at a stable price in US dollars, to supply its industrial facilities, Alunorte and Paragominas, which mine and refine alumina for global export. With Brazil’s abundance of renewable energy sources, including wind and solar, strong decarbonisation commitments and a maturing regulatory environment, the country is becoming an increasingly attractive market for renewable energy development.3 The Ventos de São Zacarias project combines MAM’s renewables development and financing expertise with Hydro Rein’s experience in the Brazilian energy market Alongside co-development, MAM structured long-term inflation-linked US dollar PPAs between the Alunorte and Paragominas facilities and the project One of the PPAs enables Alunorte to switch its boilers from coal-fired to electric. This includes the installation of three electrical boilers for steam generation, which together have the potential to reduce emissions at Alunorte by 400,000 tonnes by 2025.4 Additionally the nature of the US dollar- and inflation-linked PPA reduces exposure to both Brazilian currency and inflation risks which have historically been a key obstacle to international investment in the country This helped Ventos de São Zacarias become the first US dollar-backed project in the country to raise financing without the aid of a development bank.5 Instead, a consortium of seven private sector banks – JPMorgan, HSBC, Citibank, BNP Paribas, SocGen, Natixis and Santander – will provide $US290 million of debt. To support the efficiency of the grid capacity secured by Ventos de São Zacarias, MAM and Hydro Rein, also have the option to develop up to 130 MW of solar power production in phase two.  In early construction, the project has supported more than 800 jobs, facilitated by the local contractor, Elecnor Brasil.7 While the project’s innovative financing structure will provide a template to help drive subsequent investment into Brazil’s burgeoning renewable energy industry of renewables developed between Norsk Hydro and Macquarie8 wind project to be developed in the northeast of Brazil supported in the early construction of Ventos de São Zacarias9 option to develop solar project in phase two of the Ventos de São Zacarias project we view sustainability as part of our fiduciary duty to protect and grow our clients’ assets This focus also helps us generate positive outcomes for our investee companies and the communities they serve Our latest Sustainability Report outlines the progress we have made over the past financial year Supporting the build-out of green infrastructure Accelerating the global deployment of energy storage solutions Macquarie Asset Management’s Green Investment Group and Hydro Rein to develop hybrid wind and solar project in Brazil This information is a general description of the Macquarie Group only you should consider the appropriateness of it having regard to your particular objectives financial situation and needs and seek advice No information set out above constitutes advice to buy or sell any security or other financial credit or lending product or to engage in any investment activity or an offer of any banking or financial service Some products and/or services mentioned on this website may not be suitable for you and may not be available in all jurisdictions All securities and financial products or instrument transactions involve risks Past performance of any product described on this site is not a reliable indication of future performance MenuThe world in briefCatch up on global daily news var(--mb-colour-greyscale-london-5));font-family:var(--mb-typeface-serif);font-size:var(--mb-typestyle-body-2-size);font-style:normal;font-weight:var(--mb-font-weight-regular);line-height:var(--mb-typestyle-body-2-leading);font-variant:var(--mb-typestyle-body-2-figures);text-wrap:balance;}Biodiversity once the preoccupation of scientists and greens Liberal helpings of growth and technology are the best way of preserving it 1fr));}}@media (min-width: 52.125rem){.css-1uuz26i{grid-template:auto/repeat(9 1fr));}}@media (min-width: 89rem){.css-1uuz26i{grid-template:auto/repeat(12 Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents 43,000+ global companies doing business in the region 102,000+ key contacts related to companies and projects news and interviews about your industry in English We help Amazon farmers and ranchers comply with Brazil's Forest Code Conversion to agriculture and cattle ranching is the greatest threat to the Amazon rainforest scientists predict that more than half of the Amazon could be cleared or severely degraded within decades The Conservancy believes that the key to reverse this trend and reconcile the demand for production with conservation is an extraordinarily prescient Brazilian law - the Forest Code farmers and ranchers should retain 80% of their lands under native vegetation Our work is founded on creating realistic incentives for compliance with the law We work in several municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon some of them with the highest deforestation rates in the region: The Conservancy is rapidly becoming known as the organization in Brazil that can enable all levels of Brazilian government to enforce the country’s Forest Code We will continue to collaborate with the local government to improve its environmental monitoring system for implementation of Brazil’s Forest Code Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information Norsk Hydro's Alumina do Norte do Brasil SA refinery in Barcarena citing weak alumina and bauxite markets and uncertainty over power prices in Australia The bulk of the writedownsBloomberg Terminal relate to its Alunorte alumina refinery and Paragominas bauxite mine in Brazil hurt by shrinking margins and higher fixed costs Bauxite mine in Paragominas is exploited by Hydro-owned company - João Ramid/Norsk Hydro After several reports of spills and environmental violations a local association of Indigenous and African-Brazilian communities (Associação de Caboclos Indígenas e Quilombolas da Amazônia – CAINQUIAMA) filed a class action lawsuit with a federal court to order that Norsk Hydro-owned mining company Mineração Paragominas S/A stops its bauxite mining operations in the Barcarena area The mine is located in the Miltônia Plateau in Paragominas argued that the petition is based on a scientific research conducted by the Geoscience Institute of the Geochemistry Laboratory of the Federal University of Pará which found “highly contaminating radioactive substances with the bauxite” in the area The Norwegian state owns over 50% of Norsk Hydro and Norsk Hydro owns Mineração Paragominas and Alunorte two companies that operate in Pará Both companies argue that the claims presented in the class action suit filed by CAIQUIAMA are “unfounded,” saying the study it mentions is actually “a geological description of how bauxite formed in the area” and does not include any links “between characterization of bauxite and its impacts on human health." Moraes explains that the class action asks the court to order Brazil’s National Mining Agency and the Ministry of Mines and Energy to revoke Mineração Paragominas' mining license for the bauxite field This is the third class action suit filed by the association against the same Hydro-owned company the first suit was filed in 2017 and requested the suspension of its operations at a local dam where there was a spill later in February 2018 After an untreated wastewater spill in Barcarena a second class action suit was filed in March this year to ask Hydro to pay for the lab exams for residents who were impacted by the contamination The court ordered that the company should pay for the tests for 300 people who live in the area the Miltônia bauxite mine has a yearly output capacity of approximately 10 million metric tons In 2016, Hydro bought Vale’s remaining shares in Mineração Paragominas S.A. and became its only owner. According to a Nexo article in 2010 the company had already bought Vale's stake in Alunorte the Norwegian company became the only owner of the entire aluminum production cycle in Brazil residents reported a dam spill in Hydro Alunorte city and state authorities found a secret pipe that was pouring red-colored water directly into the environment a survey by Evandro Chagas Institute confirmed that the local environment was being contaminated with untreated wastewater Authorities ordered the immediate suspension of the company's operations at the dam and recommended it should supply clean water to the communities that were directly impacted by the spill A court ordered that Hydro Alunorte should reduce its industrial production by 50% and suspend operations at one of its dams a task force found another secret pipe pouring untreated wastewater into the Pará River All original content produced and editorially authored by Brasil de Fato may be reproduced provided it is not altered and proper credit is given All original content produced and editorially authored by Brasil de Fato may be reproduced Whereas Brazil's Para state saw a 25% increase in deforestation in 2020 reported the lowest deforestation figures in its history CIRAD and its partners are working there to reconcile productive agriculture and forest conservation policies © R TerrAmaz: a new partnership to reconcile the fight against deforestation with development in the Amazon Forland, for sustainable, integrated territorial management Mediterranean and Tropical Livestock Systems Management of Renewable Resources and Environment Forests and Societies presse@cirad.fr - Tel ScientistsRené Poccard-ChapuisCIRAD, BrazilE-mail Marie-Gabrielle PikettyCIRAD, MontpellierE-mail CIRAD, MontpellierE-mail the municipality of Paragominas in Brazil was hit by a series of devastating fires: 183 000 hectares of forest went up in smoke was as devastating as the total deforestation over the previous 15 years While such vast forest fires are now a rarity in Paragominas the overall trend in the Amazon and worldwide is upward Decades of deforestation and degradation have seriously affected ecosystems and made the forest increasingly vulnerable to drought 183 000 hectares of forest went up in smoke in 2015 in Paragominas (Brazil) © R To fight this growing risk and preserve the forest without sacrificing economic and social development CIRAD researchers are working to help local stakeholders manage their territory better The aim is to rethink the spatial organization of local landscapes depending on the specific capacities of the on-site environment "The spatial distribution of land use types plays a critical role in productivity a geographer with CIRAD who is coordinating the Paragominas pilot as part of the TerrAmaz project aimed at reconciling sustainable agricultural transition A map of zones suitable (or not) for sustainable intensification of crop and livestock systems is being drawn up with a series of indicators to assess the sustainability of territorial development methods the challenge is not fighting deforestation but "to organize landscapes in an efficient way depending on the capacities of the local land : suitability for intensified agricultural production and capacity for forest cover to protect soils effectively A land use act is currently being drafted for the municipality terraces are being constructed to prevent soil erosion while forests occupy any areas that are not flat © R CIRAD is working with local stakeholders to help the municipality to identify zones "In zones that have already been deforested we suggest sustainable farming practices that boost crop yields" "Instead of intensification by means of chemical inputs we encourage a transition to ecologically intensive practices." The past few years have seen the development in Paragominas of new pasture management practices Agroforestry practices boost soil fertility They also reduce the risk of fires during the dry season thanks to the moisture released into the atmosphere through evapotranspiration © R "We also encourage people to leave zones not suitable for agriculture to lie fallow and we are measuring the effects on water and carbon cycles and on biodiversity." In such zones crop and livestock farming have thus been abandoned and the forest is growing back at a speed that depends on the history of the plot concerned (for instance the degree of soil compaction) and the landscape configuration (proximity to trees likely to spread) is not just intended to increase the area of forest in the municipality but should also help to boost certain ecosystem services such as limiting soil erosion or linking forests" areas not suitable for agriculture are being abandoned and forest cover is gradually being restored This enables forest corridors to reconnect with the forest matrix © R If this combination of agricultural intensification and forest restoration is working in Paragominas it is because farmers are no longer trying to increase the utilized agricultural area of their farms Paragominas is the first municipality in Brazil to have introduced an official land register for almost its entire territory National satellite monitoring and coordination between the local authorities and value chains mean the police can now identify the people responsible for any new deforestation and prevent them selling the resulting products the authorities are indirectly forcing farmers to adapt and intensify production on the agricultural areas they already have" This work - conducted in collaboration with EMBRAPA Pará State University and the Federal Rural University of the Amazon - opens up new prospects for the territory for instance the construction of a territorial sustainable development label or the establishment of a "zero deforestation" supply area for responsible value chains the Brazilian agricultural research centre hosting CIRAD in Paragominas is conducting agroforestry trials (foreground) that serve as demonstration plots for farmers a fire-damaged forest block has been restored and acts as a sustainable forestry resource management "laboratory" © R The municipality of Paragominas was chosen as one of five innovative models being studied by the TerrAmaz project CIRAD and its partners will be studying and supporting the rollout of this type of approach aimed at reconciling sustainable agriculture and forest resource conservation in the Amazon "A territorial certification approach is due to be developed in Paragominas to assess the progress made by committed territories promote them and step up responsible investment" says project leader Marie-Gabrielle Piketty The figures for deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon: a very contrasting picture The figures reported by the INPE show a loss of 11 088 square kilometres of forest across the Brazilian Legal Amazon between August 2019 and July 2020 This is the highest figure since 2008 and the third yearly increase in a row since 2017: 8% in 2018 According to CIRAD's René Poccard-Chapuis "the increase in deforestation in the "legal" Amazon in fact hides substantial geographical variations There is an Amazon in which deforestation is increasing much faster than elsewhere and an Amazon that has put a stop to deforestation" the rise of almost 10% observed in 2020 (corresponding to 959 km2 across the Brazilian Amazon) is concentrated in Pará state alone The situation in other states is more or less stable Mato Grosso) and others that are either slightly negative or stable are responsible for a major share of deforestation" The two municipalities of Altamira and São Félix do Xingú alone account for more than 30% of the deforestation in Pará are sustaining very low levels of deforestation: 10.75 km2 in 2020 according to the initial figures from the INPE 'Municipios Verdes': from zero deforestation to the sustainable management of natural resources in the Brazilian Amazon In: Living territories to transform the world The French agricultural research and international cooperation organization working for the sustainable development of tropical and Mediterranean regions rotational grazing is boosting productivity per hectare and encouraging livestock farmers to leave slopes fallow since such areas are difficult to access and plough © R Marie-Gabrielle PikettyMontpellier, FranceE-mail​​​ René Poccard-ChapuisParagominas, BrésiltE-mail farmers let their cattle graze wherever they wanted and the use of fire ruled out any forest regrowth With technical support from the TerrAmaz project they are being helped to choose the best land for rotational grazing This improves both the animals’ diet and soil fertility René Poccard-Chapuis is a geographer with CIRAD and is coordinating the TerrAmaz project’s activities in Paragominas Those activities combine rural development and forest management and are backed by a simple principle: organizing landscapes according to soil properties filtering rainwater and limiting erosion are all services whose absence very quickly makes itself noticed.” Restoration map of priority forests for water resources in the prefecture of Paragominas (2020) © R Several of TerrAmaz’s activities in Paragominas make use of mapping tools to steer and monitor land use changes precisely the maps produced serve to pinpoint zones that should be reforested as a priority “Forest cover in the areas where water runs off or collects acts as a filter” “Treating water in Paragominas is currently very costly since it contains a lot of suspended particles ravines and floodplains are extremely difficult to plough and are of little use for agriculture They are already beginning to be abandoned and forest is becoming established To speed up and extend the restoration process the Paragominas water board is keen to encourage farmers The scheme would be funded by people in urban areas and supported by the town council by means of a geographic information system.  Several areas where TerrAmaz works – not just Paragominas but also Cotriguaçu in Brazil and Guaviare in Colombia – have embarked on the same dynamic 35 livestock farmers have signed forest resource conservation agreements and received individual funding to improve their husbandry practices Those agreements currently cover 930 hectares of forest or 30% of the total area of farmland in the municipality CIRAD agronomist Marie-Gabrielle Piketty is leading the TerrAmaz project She is enthusiastic about the initial results: “TerrAmaz is helping to support and capitalize on these initiatives in several parts of the Amazon Local government and development players are working together on this TerrAmaz is funded by the Agence française de développement and is due to run from 2020 to 2024 scientists will be able to determine precisely the economic ecological and social advantages of these innovative landscapes Some say the trial is unethical. Others, that not doing it would be immoral Childhood exposure to a common gut bacterium could be responsible For now, the evidence for neuromodulation products is slim Many will still be culled under false pretences Initiatives test solutions for restoring the vegetation in degraded areas The initial results from an ecological restoration project at Marupiara Farm in the municipality of Paragominas four years after the degraded areas there were isolated and the first seedlings of native species such as açaí and andiroba were planted The use of techniques such as artificial enrichment of forests which adds new species to the growing vegetation has led to the recovery of about 60% of the area partially destroyed by timber harvesting in recent decades had 17 hectares that were not in compliance with the law in 2011 These lands were supposed to function as Permanent Preservation Areas (APPs) to protect the rivers The recovery program has also helped diversify the farm’s output as evidenced by the fact that açaí and wood will soon be brought to market The number of cases of this type could potentially increase over the next few years Brazil’s federal government enacted the implementing regulations for the Rural Environmental Cadastre (CAR) an instrument created to regulate and monitor some 5.6 million rural properties Completion of the cadastre in 2016 will initiate the Environmental Regulation Program which will require rural landowners to restore areas that were illegally deforested in the past “This will likely increase the demand for projects to restore natural formations in Brazil,” says biologist Ricardo Ribeiro Rodrigues a professor at the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture one of the principal livestock centers in the Amazon Region was at the top of the Ministry of the Environment’s deforestation blacklist from 2008 to 2010 With pressure from the Office of the Prosecutor for the Public Interest the city was able to get off the list with support from The Nature Conservancy which helped register 80% of the properties in the rural environmental cadastre of the state of Pará the city faced a new dilemma: how to keep from getting back onto the list of worst deforesters “There was only one answer: we should adopt modern techniques that can transform livestock-raising in the region,” says Mauro Lucio Costa owner of Marupiara Farm and former president of the Rural Producers Union of Paragominas The union requested help from researchers at ESALQ-USP who have a wealth of experience in forest restoration studies “Our research findings come from studies done under the Biota-FAPESP program,” says Ricardo Ribeiro Rodrigues referring to the initiative begun in 1999 to map the biodiversity of the state of São Paulo Rodrigues was coordinator of the program from 2004 to 2009 One result was a 2008 document that presents guidelines for conservation and restoration of the biodiversity in the state of São Paulo based on the knowledge generated by Biota-FAPESP that the remaining fragments of vegetation be taken into consideration in recovery projects with an emphasis on riparian forests—the vegetation growing along the edges of headwaters lakes and dams that protects the water from silting up and also acts as a center for seed dispersal and creates ecological corridors Reproduction from the book Restauração florestal/Editora Oficina de Textos Intensive livestock farming freed up more space for forest restoration in areas that had been degraded for decades in Paragominas ParáReproduction from the book Restauração florestal/Editora Oficina de Textos There was one more challenge: convincing the farmers in Paragominas who are averse to change “Most of them only became engaged when they saw that the restoration projects were viable and could diversify production and generate a profit,” Costa says 12 native species were planted in legal reserve areas where sustainable management is permitted for economic use Work was also done to improve the pasture areas more fertile land were improved and thickened This made it possible to keep more cattle in a smaller space the property had 0.9 head of cattle per hectare; in 2015 that number rose to 3 head per hectare Ricardo Rodrigues how heads a project to restore riparian forests native forests for economic production and degraded forest fragments The goal is to simulate and understand the effects of implementing the new Forest Code to identify the potential for using and marketing wood and non-wood products from native species and to develop low-cost methods of restoration research groups such as the one at ESALQ are also endeavoring to test practical applications for a number of available techniques Some of these efforts in Brazil are described in the book Restauração florestal (Forest Restoration) which was authored by Rodrigues along with Sergius Gandolfi and Pedro Brancalion The sixth edition of the book was introduced at the Ecological Restoration Symposium held November 9-13 The book updates the theoretical framework drawn up in 2010 to provide technical support for the Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact an effort that brings together 350 public and private institutions The goal is to restore 15 million hectares of Atlantic forest by 2050 “Many initiatives have had no guarantee of success because the projects have been implemented incorrectly,” says Rodrigues Forest recovery on farms in rural São Paulo State is one of the initiatives carried out under the Pact three farms in Itu were chosen as sites for restoration activities intended to provide environmental compensation The initiative works as follows: the owner of a sugarcane plantation that does not have areas suitable for forest recovery in a legal reserve can invest in remaining natural areas located on another property “We’re also putting 10,000-square-meter land parcels up for sale on some of the farms Half the area is restored native vegetation The objective is to form a forest corridor amidst the buildings,” says business owner and sociologist Neca Setubal Reproduction from the book Restauração florestal/Editora Oficina de Textos Stream protected by riparian forest in Lucas do Rio Verde state of Mato Grosso…Reproduction from the book Restauração florestal/Editora Oficina de Textos The current Forest Code permits controlled exploitation of APPs on small properties provided that species from the local region are used In areas where sustainable management is permitted the law authorizes the planting of up to 50% exotic species the first resolution published by the state environmental department named 247 tree species to be used in restoration projects recently announced a revised and expanded list of 2,315 species that includes not only trees Successful restoration depends on the biodiversity involved and the genetic variability,” says Luiz Mauro Barbosa most of the recovery areas used no more than 30 species And nurseries concentrated on producing just a few types of trees the state has 207 nurseries that produce about 40 million seedlings of 800 arboreal species each year The expanded list of species will be a strategic cornerstone of the Headwaters Program a river conservation initiative based on forest restoration launched by the São Paulo State government in 2015 The objective is to protect 6,000 kilometers of streams and restore some 20,000 hectares of riparian forest a nongovernmental organization that will take part in projects under the state program is one of the entities already at work in the area around the water system that supplies the city of São Paulo and other cities The organization is participating through the Water Production Program run by the National Water Agency (ANA) in response to a call for proposals under the BNDES Atlantic Forest Initiative we were able to determine that planting seedlings improved the water quality,” says Pedro Barral de Sá who heads forest projects for the Green Initiative has been conducting a program to improve water quality and increase production by protecting headwaters The initiative is devoted in part to associating the production of yerba mate with forests around the headwaters of rivers and streams Several stakeholders are involved in the project including the municipal government and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation’s forestry division (Embrapa Florestas) We’ve now recovered a number of headwaters and the case has become a model for headwaters protection and ecological restoration It even includes training for technicians,” says Emiliano Santarosa an analyst at Embrapa Florestas who is in charge of technology transfer operations in the region Another recovery method implemented by Embrapa is the agrosilvopastoral system and can increase productivity in the field without the need to expand the agricultural area into virgin forest Embrapa is developing projects of this type primarily with dairy or beef cattle  farmers Partial shade offers comfort to the animals and there are over 40 properties that serve as models for the use of this system in projects carried out by Embrapa in partnership with the Paraná Institute for Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Reproduction from the book Restauração florestal/Editora Oficina de Textos … and an unprotected stream in Piracicaba in rural São Paulo State: vegetation prevents streams from silting upReproduction from the book Restauração florestal/Editora Oficina de Textos experiments that combine sugarcane planting with native forest preservation are revealing a way for bioenergy production and forests to coexist in the same space A 2012 study by Brazilian and American researchers showed that native forest can store 18 times more carbon than can sugarcane along with colleagues at the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) showed that the state of São Paulo has a deficit of 800,000 hectares of forest that should be recovered “One solution is to plant the sugarcane around forests or vice-versa,” suggests Marcos Buckeridge a co-author of that study and coordinator of the National Institute of Science and Technology of Bioethanol (INCT-Bio) the difficulties lie in making the experiments work on a larger scale,” he notes “The projects implemented in Brazil are so far rather localized,” he points out depends on strategies to lower the cost of forest restoration projects and facilitate economic gains the forest renewal on the three farms cost about R$20,000 per hectare they had to plant a full complement of seeds or seedlings and the costs need to be brought down through the use of scientific know-how,” Rodrigues says © Revista Pesquisa FAPESP - All rights reserved Get our news on your inbox! Suscribe x MercoPress, en Español Montevideo, May 6th 2025 - 10:12 UTC Europe’s third largest aluminum maker agreed to buy mining and smelting assets from Vale (NYSE: VALE) in a deal valued at 4.9 billion US dollars boosting its control over raw materials used in production the world’s largest iron ore producer will receive 1.1 billion in cash and new shares equivalent to 22% of the Oslo-based company’s outstanding stock Norsk Hydro ASA (OSL: NHY) said in a statement Hydro will assume 700 million USD in net debt and plans to raise 10 billion kronor (1.69 billion USD) selling shares to help finance the transaction Norsk Hydro ASA is adding raw-material assets to lower costs after prices for aluminum slumped last year on slowing economic growth and declining demand from builders and carmakers. The purchase gives the Norwegian company control of Brazil’s Paragominas one of the world’s bauxite mines The combination will “considerably” strengthen Hydro’s position in bauxite mining and alumina refining The quality and efficiency of the new assets will also “significantly improve” the Norwegian company’s financial position it said. Hydro also gets 51% of the Albras aluminum plant and 81% of the CAP alumina refinery project in the deal It already owns 34% of Alunorte and 20% of CAP “This is a historic day” and a “transforming transaction” Hydro’s Chief Executive Officer Svein Richard Brandtzaeg said at a press conference in Oslo. Hydro has the right to take over the remaining 40% stake in Paragominas in two installments in return for a cash payment of 200 million USD for each installment the company said. The company decided on the rights offer The transaction will reduce the Norwegian State’s ownership in the company to approximately 34.5% from 43.8% Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry Trond Giske said at the press conference Norway’s “ambition in the longer term” is to bring the holding back up towards 40% it said in a statement. The purchase is a “good strategic move” for Hydro and the value is fair The government says “yes to the deal” and the share issue Vale becomes the second-largest shareholder in Hydro A representative of the Rio De Janiero-based miner will join the Norwegian company’s board of directors and the company has agreed to not increase its shareholding Vale’s Executive Director Tito Martins said in an interview after the press conference in Oslo Vale doesn’t foresee any job losses as a consequence of the deal he added. Vale is committed to the business and will give its total support to Hydro,” Martins said “I am confident it will bring us a lot of benefits.” Commenting for this story is now closed.If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page Terramaz project website René Poccard ChapuisParagominas, BrazilE-mail The Union with Municipalities programme is led by the Brazilian Ministry of Environment (MMA) It sets out actions to support 70 priority municipalities identified for their high levels of deforestation and forest degradation in the reference year 2022 Focusing on equipment and incentives for municipalities the programme establishes new tools to achieve its objectives: ensuring zero illegal deforestation by 2030 and improving livelihoods for local people To the municipalities that engage in this process the programme will allocate a total of 740 million reais (133 million euros) 600 million of which are from the Amazon Fund this funding will be used to implement various actions including accelerating environmental and land regularisation financing sustainable productive activities and equipping and modernising “good governance offices” in city councils which has so far been the poor relation in Amazon policies is now considered essential for engaging Amazon populations and achieving real impacts on the ground the consolidation of territorial institutions is seen as playing a structural role in reducing deforestation in the priority municipalities also stressed the importance of a good relationship within the territories between the different types of actors Organising this coexistence is the only way to effectively meet the expectations of the different groups” “This is exactly what the Paragoclima project seeks to do by giving all stakeholders a voice and trying to include everyone in governance instruments” From left to right: René Poccard-Chapuis the Environmental Secretary for Rondon do Pará Since 2020, the municipality is one of the five pilot territories of the TerrAmaz project with which it is developing a territorial intelligence plan to foster synergies between economic Drawing on this progress and these outcomes the municipality launched its ParagoClima project in April 2023 with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 The objective is to build on the comparative advantages of the Amazon for low-carbon activities especially in the fields of sustainable agriculture and forestry more sustainable territorial development dynamics forms the coordination group responsible for implementing this project These actions have enabled Paragominas to be proactive in developing this new Union with Municipalities programme A number of exchanges have taken place with the MMA’s Special Secretariat for Deforestation Control and Territorial Planning (SECD) during which the municipality stressed the importance of promoting low-carbon development rather than focusing solely on forest protection These different exchanges and events have already contributed to defining the criteria and outlines of this new programme to combat illegal deforestation in the Amazon Paragominas will continue to discuss ways to improve the programme with the SECD and with the Amazon city councils so that they are better able to develop projects in line with forest protection Criteria for inclusion in or removal from the list need to be discussed in greater detail especially where forest fires are concerned and the municipality will tackle this issue René Poccard-Chapuis has also coordinated a report that he submitted to the SECD analysing deforestation across the whole Amazon biome and making suggestions for adapting federal policies to specific situations in the major types of municipalities in the Amazon Tackle climate change : Recommendations for agricultural adaptation policies of tomorrow Climate change at CIRAD Marie HrabanskiMontpellier, FranceE-mail How can effective policy instruments to adapt agriculture to climate change be implemented CIRAD has published a set of recommendations in a policy brief: "Tackle climate change: recommendations for agricultural adaptation policies of tomorrow" Adapting the agricultural sector to climate change calls for five key measures: assessing the true performance of climate policy instruments; implementing sectoral policy instruments; promoting incentive communicative and regulatory instruments; improving implementation of existing instruments; and promoting national "jurisdictional adaptation" as an assessment of climate adaptation at global level Agriculture accounts for 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions it has the potential to slash its emissions by 75% The article contains five key messages for policymakers two of which run counter to what is generally advocated on a global level The performance of policy instruments must be measured on the ground Governance issues or the dilution of policymakers' capacity to act may limit the efficacy of action plans It is important to ensure the effective dissemination of objectives and concrete implementation of instruments in territories and/or cultivable plots it is generally accepted that climate issues must be managed by means of cross-sectoral governance agricultural issues must be addressed in combination with other sectors such as water "instruments for adapting agriculture to climate change are more effective if implemented by the agricultural sector We think this is because the agricultural sector often has better territorial coverage and is more structured than other sectors".These factors facilitate more rapid innovation to implement instruments for adapting agriculture to climate change three quarters of current instruments are being implemented by players in the agricultural sector such as the Climate Smart Agriculture platform in Senegal The platform coordinates national and local players to ensure the integration of climate policy in agricultural policies and projects notably by means of departmental platforms."But this does not mean that non-agricultural players should not be involved in public policy building" The authors stress the importance of rehabilitating command-and-control regulatory instruments but they feel that such regulatory instruments combined with incentives and communicative instruments guarantee effective implementation of climate adaptation policies.Hybrid instruments already exist such as EU agri-environment-climate measures which provide financial support to farmers provided they adopt more environmentally friendly practices There is no point developing a range of climate plans: in Colombia climate policies have blossomed in recent years we would recommend institutional and instrumental restraint",  Marie Hrabanski stresses The priority is to improve implementation of the sectoral instruments judged to be the most effective The authors pinpoint the need to promote national "jurisdictional adaptation" as an efficient assessment of climate adaptation policies on a global scale local climate litigation serves to improve international climate law innovate in terms of transnational disputes and develop a preventive approach in terms of liability respecting these priority messages will ensure the successful implementation of public policy in favour of climate adaptation within farming systems worldwide Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker