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HOW THE LULA GOVERNMENT CAN PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL
SUSTAINABILITY IN THE AMAZON
Fernando Alcoforado*
This article aims to present proposals that enable the Lula government to promote the
environmental and ecological sustainability of the Amazon. Environmental and
ecological sustainability in the Amazon means promoting the economic and social
development of the region that meets the present needs of its population, Brazil and the
environment of planet Earth without compromising the capacity of the next generations
of the Amazon and Brazil to supply their own needs. Environmental and ecological
sustainability in the Amazon means maintaining the region's environment, ensuring the
quality of life of its populations, with its ecosystems in harmony with human beings.
Environmental and ecological sustainability in the Amazon means taking care not to
pollute its waters, separating garbage, avoiding ecological disasters such as fires and
deforestation, among other actions. The Amazon's challenge is to promote the economic
and social development of the region and of Brazil without depleting the existing natural
resources there. Environmental and ecological sustainability in the Amazon is directly
related to the economic and social development of the region without harming the
environment, using the natural resources existing there in an intelligent way so that they
remain in the future.
Figure 1 shows the map of South America in which the Amazon biome stands out.
Figure 1- Amazon Biome
Source: https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-51377232

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Figure 2 shows the map where the Legal Amazon is located:
Figure 2- Legal Amazon
Source: ALCOFORADO, Fernando. Amazônia Sustentável. Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo: Editora Viena,
2010.
There are several environmental problems that affect the Amazon. The exploitation and
industrial processing of wood are among the main economic activities in the Amazon,
alongside mining and agriculture. The exploitation and industrial processing of wood is
one of the main factors responsible for the destruction of the Amazon Forest, as it
contributes to the increase in deforestation (Figure 3). Mineral extraction also represents
a source of environmental degradation in the Amazon because it causes changes in the
water table, impacts on fauna and flora, promotes silting and soil erosion and invades
areas inhabited by indigenous populations, among other factors (Figure 4). Another
activity that is harmful to the environment in the Amazon concerns agricultural practices
that contribute to the replacement of forests by pastures and crops in the Amazon Forest,
depleting the soil and causing a total imbalance in the environment where thousands of
species of animals live, many of which are already in phase of extinction (Figure 5).
Another major environmental problem in the Amazon concerns the implementation of
highways that have profoundly transformed its regional organization until then defined
around the rivers (Figure 6). There has been a shift from an Amazon structured around
waterways, draining flows to the East, to a region dominated by highways leading to the
South-Southeast. The highways open up areas of the Amazon that are currently
inaccessible and promote the migration of deforestation hotspots. In addition, several
hydroelectric plants were built in the Amazon, notably Belo Monte, on the Xingu River
in Pará, Jirau and Santo Antônio on the Madeira River in Rondônia, Estreito and several
others on the Tocantins River in Maranhão with irreversible consequences for numerous

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indigenous peoples of the Amazon, including peoples without contact with Brazilian
society, who substantially alter the living conditions of the region (Figure 7).
Figure 3- Deforestation in the Amazon
Source: https://imazon.org.br/imprensa/publicacao-fatos-da-amazonia-2021-mostra-radiografia-
atualizada-da-regiao-veja-os-principais-dados/
Figure 4- Illegal mining areas in the Amazon
Source: https://www.idesf.org.br/2022/01/06/garimpos-ilegais-e-as-areas-de-fronteira-no-norte-do-brasil/

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Figure 5- Agriculture in Brazil
Source: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultura_no_Brasil
Figure 6- Highways in the Amazon
Source: https://journals.openedition.org/confins/21176

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Figure 7- Hydroelectric plants in the Amazon
Source: https://br.pinterest.com/pin/719239002964212434/
The Amazon Forest is threatened with destruction, therefore, due to deforestation and
fires resulting from the expansion of agricultural and logging activities, mineral
exploration that has been leaving a legacy of poverty and serious socio-environmental
impacts, the implementation of highways that are causing great environmental impacts
in the Amazon and the hydroelectric plants whose planned reservoirs are causing so
many negative impacts on the environment that their construction should not have taken
place. Add to all of this the urbanization process in the Amazon that does not obey any
environmental considerations. The urbanized areas of the Amazon lack services to assist
the population and many houses are devoid of any infrastructure, sanitation and urban
equipment. It is opportune to observe that, of all the environmental problems in the
Amazon, deforestation and fires are the most harmful because they are responsible for
the destruction of vegetation, "habitat" and the death of animals, the local extinction of
species, the loss of organic matter in the soil and its exposure to erosion. In addition,
they also contribute to the greenhouse effect by releasing large amounts of CO2.
Current environmental management in the Amazon could achieve high efficiency in
eliminating the problems described above if an organizational structure existed in this
region capable of bringing together all public and private bodies in the pursuit of
sustainable development.
Of all the existing environmental problems in the Amazon, the main one concerns
deforestation and fires that result in the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere. Brazil has
emitted 112.9 billion tons of CO2 (GtCO2) since 1850. Most of Brazil's emissions (2.16
billion tons of carbon dioxide per year) are the result of land use activities such as
deforestation and the fires. Due to deforestation, in the Amazon region alone, Brazil emits
about 410 million tons of carbon per year. Such estimates place Brazil among the five
most polluting countries in the world. This is without taking into account the emissions

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resulting from the Amazonian forest fires, which are not being considered nor were they
included in the Brazilian Emissions Inventory. The main instrument of the Brazilian
government to combat the problem of climate change is the Action Plan for the Prevention
and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAM), launched in 2004. One
of the pillars of the PPCDAM is the satellite monitoring system, which subsidizes
inspection operations in the Amazon. INPE uses several mechanisms, including PRODES
(Amazon Deforestation Calculation Program), one of the most advanced in the world for
identifying and quantifying deforestation processes in forest areas, and DETER, a quick
survey carried out every two weeks by INPE.
Among the actions related to environmental and ecological sustainability, the following
can be mentioned:
- Exploitation of plant resources in forests and woods in a controlled manner, ensuring
replanting whenever necessary.
- Total preservation of green areas not intended for economic exploitation.
- Encouraging the production and consumption of organic food, as these do not harm
nature, in addition to being beneficial to the health of human beings.
- Exploration of mineral resources (oil, coal, ores) in a controlled, rationalized and
planned manner.
- Use of clean and renewable energy sources (solar, wind, geothermal, hydrogen, hydro,
biomass) to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. This action, in addition to preserving
reserves of mineral resources, aims to reduce air pollution.
- Creation of personal and business attitudes towards solid waste recycling. This action,
in addition to generating income and reducing the amount of garbage on the ground and
destined for landfills, makes it possible to reduce the removal of mineral resources from
the subsoil.
- Adoption of sustainable development in companies to reduce the waste of raw materials
and the manufacture of products with low energy consumption.
- Control of the controlled consumption of water, avoiding its waste as much as possible.
- Adoption of measures aimed at non-pollution of water resources, as well as the
depollution of those that are polluted or contaminated.
The adoption of environmental and ecological sustainability actions guarantees, in the
medium and long term, a planet in good conditions for the development of different forms
of life, including human life, guarantees the necessary natural resources for the next
generations, enables the maintenance of natural resources ( forests, rivers, lakes, oceans)
and guarantees a good quality of life for future generations. This is how humanity can
ensure sustainable development.
In order to avoid the devastation of the Amazon Forest and ensure that the natural
resources existing in the Amazon are used rationally for the benefit of the vast majority
of the population living there and for the economic and social progress of Brazil, as well
as the fight against global warming, it is essential that there be effective environmental
management based on a network structure that integrates the actions of all public and
private agencies operating in the Amazon (Figure 8).

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Figure 8- Network structure in the Amazon
Source: ALCOFORADO, Fernando. Amazônia Sustentável. Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo: Editora Viena,
2010.
The main objective of the network structure is to contribute towards making feasible an
integrated environmental management of the Amazon based on which all public and
private bodies that operate in the region operate in an articulated manner to promote its
sustainable development. The articulation between all public and private bodies there
should be coordinated by SUDAM - Superintendence for the Development of the
Amazon. To this end, it is necessary that its operation be carried out based on objectives
and strategies previously established jointly by all public and private actors and that,
periodically, the established strategies be reviewed jointly by all network participants,
taking into account the evolution of the events. This articulation there should also involve
neighboring Amazonian countries. The implementation of integrated environmental
management in the Amazon to promote its sustainable development there should be the
main project to be presented by Brazil at the future COP 28, which aims to limit the effects
of climate change to 1.5 °C. This initiative by the Brazilian government would aim to
eliminate deforestation and burning, which are the main causes of CO2 emissions.
Therefore, in order to avoid the destruction of the Amazon Forest and ensure that the
natural resources existing in the Amazon are rationally used for the benefit of the resident
population and the economic and social progress of Brazil, as well as in the fight against
global warming, it is essential to defend the integrity of the Amazon Forest with the
adoption of strategies aimed at achieving the objectives described below:
1- Combating global warming
2- Defense of indigenous communities
3- Combat deforestation and fires
4- Recovery of Degraded and Altered Areas
5- Creation of Conservation Units

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6- Combating urban environmental degradation in the Amazon
7- Combat chaos over land ownership
8- Provision of environmental services
9- Organization of productive activity
10- Development of the forest sector
11- Development of the timber sector
12- Development of ecotourism
13- Organization of fishing activity
14- Development of agriculture
15-Development of family farming
16- Production of ecologically recommendable electrical energy
17- Promotion of economic incentives
18- Elaboration of the Ecological-Economic Zoning (ZEE)
19- Elaboration of Legislation and Environmental Standards
20- Development of Environmental Management
21- Dissemination of information
22- Development of Science and Technology activities
23- Promotion of training and environmental education
24- Combating hydropiracy
25- Development of river navigation
26- Combat of the creation of new States and Territories
27- Implementation of a network structure to carry out the sustainable development of
the Amazon
The strategies associated with each of the objectives described above are detailed in the
book by Fernando Alcoforado, Amazônia Sustentável, published by Editora Viena de
Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo in 2010. This article used the aforementioned book
as a reference source.
* Fernando Alcoforado, awarded the medal of Engineering Merit of the CONFEA / CREA System, member
of the Bahia Academy of Education, of the SBPC- Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science and of
IPB- Polytechnic Institute of Bahia, engineer and doctor in Territorial Planning and Regional Development
from the University of Barcelona, university professor and consultant in the areas of strategic planning,
business planning, regional planning, urban planning and energy systems, was Advisor to the Vice
President of Engineering and Technology at LIGHT S.A. Electric power distribution company from Rio de
Janeiro, Strategic Planning Coordinator of CEPED- Bahia Research and Development Center,
Undersecretary of Energy of the State of Bahia, Secretary of Planning of Salvador, is the author of the
books Globalização (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1997), De Collor a FHC- O Brasil e a Nova (Des)ordem
Mundial (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1998), Um Projeto para o Brasil (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2000), Os
condicionantes do desenvolvimento do Estado da Bahia (Tese de doutorado. Universidade de

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Barcelona,http://www.tesisenred.net/handle/10803/1944, 2003), Globalização e Desenvolvimento (Editora
Nobel, São Paulo, 2006), Bahia- Desenvolvimento do Século XVI ao Século XX e Objetivos Estratégicos
na Era Contemporânea (EGBA, Salvador, 2008), The Necessary Conditions of the Economic and Social
Development- The Case of the State of Bahia (VDM Verlag Dr. Müller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG,
Saarbrücken, Germany, 2010), Aquecimento Global e Catástrofe Planetária (Viena- Editora e Gráfica,
Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2010), Amazônia Sustentável- Para o progresso do Brasil e combate
ao aquecimento global (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2011), Os Fatores
Condicionantes do Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2012), Energia no
Mundo e no Brasil- Energia e Mudança Climática Catastrófica no Século XXI (Editora CRV, Curitiba,
2015), As Grandes Revoluções Científicas, Econômicas e Sociais que Mudaram o Mundo (Editora CRV,
Curitiba, 2016), A Invenção de um novo Brasil (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2017), Esquerda x Direita e a sua
convergência (Associação Baiana de Imprensa, Salvador, 2018), Como inventar o futuro para mudar o
mundo (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2019), A humanidade ameaçada e as estratégias para sua sobrevivência
(Editora Dialética, São Paulo, 2021), A escalada da ciência e da tecnologia e sua contribuição ao progresso
e à sobrevivência da humanidade(Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2022)and a chapter in the book Flood Handbook
(CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, United States, 2022).