“I’m asking for a moratorium [suspensão] in the importation of wood, soy and gold until the rules of the law are established and human and environmental rights are respected.”
This was the first reaction of MEP Claude Gruffat, 64, when he learned of the last year’s figures for deforestation in the Amazon, released this Friday (12) by Deter, from Inpe (National Institute for Space Research). From August 2021 to July 2022, 8,590.33 km² of the biome were felled, the third highest rate in the recent measurement history.
“We will reach a point of no return if we Europeans do not put an end to the import of goods from deforestation. It is the only way”, said the French MEP to Sheet.
A member of the economic affairs committee and the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with Mercosur, Gruffat spent ten days in the forest last month, on a trip with fellow MEPs Michèle Rivasi (French) and Anna Cavazzini (German).
It was Gruffat’s first visit to Brazil, and he received the new figures “with as much desolation” as he saw in the Amazon. “I saw Bolsonaro’s whole system: no enforcement, just handing more and more power to crime. And a desire to destroy indigenous peoples and the rainforest,” she said.
“My flight over the region made me understand better the importance of the problem: from 8,000 to 9,000 km² per year, and that’s an addition. [Pará]that there is a lot of work to be done on the import of wood, most of which comes from illegal logging.”
Asked about possible international sanctions against Brazil, Gruffat says that his role is not to create penalties. “On the other hand, we don’t want to be complicit in this massive deforestation that damages the planet.”
“At a time when the climate problem is so urgent, it is only coherent not to want to contribute to the reduction of a forest that is one of the most important carbon sinks on the planet.”
But what do the Green MPs in Parliament plan to do?
According to the French politician, in the second half of 2022, parliamentarian Rivasi will work on regulations against the import of wood from deforestation and on the preservation of indigenous peoples.
“Meanwhile, Anna Cavazzini and I are going to increase the inspection of European companies operating in the Amazon, especially those that work with primary goods”, he says.
Gruffat says he will work to make indigenous voices heard — inside Parliament and outside it, working in the press, at events and on social media. “Now that I’ve seen the problem with my own eyes and spoken to people, I feel it’s my responsibility to contribute to the fight to improve this situation.”
On his visit to Brazil, Gruffat said he was “shocked” by some of the situations he witnessed. “I have seen environmental poisoning from the use of pesticides that have been banned in Europe for about 20 years. I will do everything in my power to stop the export by European companies of products banned in Europe.”
He also claims to have been “deeply saddened by the poisoning of indigenous children by mercury used in illegal gold mining.”
Finally, Gruffat listed four conclusions he reached after his visit: “1) organized crime is widespread; 2) the laws that apply are piracy on the high seas; 3) indigenous peoples and local communities are suffering; 4 ) EU countries and China make a huge impact through their companies doing business with the local mafia”.
“However, I have hopes: 1) in the way indigenous peoples and local communities are organizing and fighting against the government and the mafia; 2) in the next Brazilian election; 3) and that the European Union has the strength to end this tragedy.”
