Preserving Earth’s Lungs: Learning from the Guardians Protecting the Amazon Rainforest

Advocacy & Policy, Global Issues / By Keahi Kaheiki

The Amazon rainforest is the largest rainforest in the world and has often been called the “lungs of the Earth,” because of the billions of trees that absorb carbon dioxide, produce 20 percent of Earth’s oxygen, and slow climate change.

Research conducted by the Brazilian Research Scientist Dr. Antônio Donato Nobre, and sponsored by several environmental organizations, noted that the Amazon rainforest has evolved over the past 50 million years to become the “largest technology park the Earth has ever known.” The Amazon also creates much-needed moisture for South and North America by absorbing water and redistributing it as rain.

However, the effects of deforestation are “blackening” the Earth’s lungs and destroying this incredible technology park. But a group of Indigenous people from the Amazon—known as the Forest Guardians—are doing everything they can to stop it.

The documentary, “We Are Guardians,” tells the story of how deep in the Brazilian Amazon, protected lands are under siege as illegal incursions strip centuries-old forests for fleeting financial gains. The vital resource that is the Amazon is at a tipping point—and Forest Guardians like Marçal Guajajara and Puyr Tembé risk everything to shield their ancestral lands, while others fuel the destruction and environmental crisis due to poverty.

“We Are Guardians” brings the intersecting stories of Amazon protectors and destroyers to life, unraveling the urgent need for sustainable solutions and calling ESG investors to recognize the profound global stakes tied to this delicate ecosystem.

THE GUARDIANS’ STORY

While attending the 2024 Bioneers Conference, my son and I were fortunate to watch “We Are Guardians” about those who are risking their lives every day by fighting to protect the forests they call home from mass destruction and deforestation. Present for the showing we attended were Puyr Tembé, one of the Forest Guardians, along with Célia Xakriaba, a member of Brazil’s Congress, who was also featured in the film.

The film documented the Guardians’ battle to catch and stop illegal loggers and stop the slash-and burn clearing of protected land for cattle and monocropping operations, which involves growing the same crop in the same field repeatedly over multiple years. The film also shared the perspective of one of the illegal loggers, who knows that cutting down 500-year-old trees for lumber is wrong, but low pay in Brazil leaves him with no other choice to support his family.

In Brazil, the Guardians’ fight has been further complicated by the political pushback from former President Jair Bolsonaro, who turned a deaf ear to groups trying to stop the destruction of the forest and weakened laws that should have protected it. During his term in office, more than 8.4 million acres of the Amazon were destroyed due to his lax enforcement.

In 2022, President Bolsonaro lost his bid for re-election and was replaced by former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. That same year, President Lula launched an updated version of Operation Guardians of the Biome (OGB), a coordinated task force of governmental agencies tasked with combating the illegal organizations that promote the destruction of the Amazon. The first phase of the initiative has had success in fighting forest fires and more than 1,500 fines have been imposed. President Lula also appointed Tembé as the Minister of Indigenous Peoples for the state of Pará.

DOING OUR PART

We left the showing in tears, both touched deeply by the courage of the people risking their lives to stop the destruction—not only for their own families, but for the rest of the world, which they know is impacted by the health of the Amazon.

Learning that hundreds of millions of pounds of beef, lumber, and soy that is produced from the Amazon’s destruction ends up in the U.S. was truly eye-opening! We left thinking of how important it is to find out where the lumber we buy and beef we consume is coming from in order to do our part. We also felt compelled to share the Guardians’ story with others in our family and our community to encourage awareness.

Protecting the Amazon rainforest is a global responsibility because the health of the Amazon impacts us all. By educating ourselves, we can ensure that this vital ecosystem is protected for future generations. As Puyr reminds us in the film, “This fight is mine. This fight is yours. This fight is ours.” For more information on the work the Guardians are doing and to support their efforts, visit weareguardiansfilm.com.

Natural Investments supports the fight by offering several public and private investments that are focused on preventing deforestation in the Amazon. One of these is the NESsT Lirio Fund, which focuses on providing debt capital to rural enterprises in the Andes-Amazon region of South America with a target of smallholder farmers, women, and Indigenous people. The capital provided creates income for those who would be otherwise compelled to deforest to survive. Smallholder farmers are also urged to avoid monocropping and are encouraged to use organic practices and maintain biodiversity to protect soil health. Businesses are required to operate deforestation-free practices and engage in protecting, restoring, and conserving land. Natural Investments also uses Green Century Funds in some of its model portfolios. Green Century uses shareholder advocacy to create change in global corporations by convincing them to adopt policies that protect rainforests.

The Amazon rainforest’s survival impacts the entire planet. By supporting initiatives that prioritize conservation, reforestation, and sustainable livelihoods, we can all contribute to safeguarding the Amazon for generations to come.

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