Iván Duque: Environmental protection has no ideology – 09/01/2023 – Environment

Within the bipolar pattern that contaminates any discussion in Brazil, the position of Iván Duque, president of Colombia from 2018 to 2022, is atypical. Liberal in economics and elected by the Democratic Center, a party that calls itself center but is considered right-wing, Duque established himself on the international scene by preaching “zero deforestation” as a way to stop climate change.

“I am convinced that the defense of the environment has no ideology. Anyone who still does not see the climate crisis, for me, is a denialist”, he says.

For Duque, although Brazil concentrates 60% of the Amazon, the defense of the immense territory of the forest will only be possible when there is a multinational force integrated by countries in the region to combat all forms of environmental crimes, which today are intertwined with drug trafficking. In addition to Colombia, there are also areas with this biome in Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela and Suriname.

Duque was the speaker who closed the International Conference on the Amazon and New Economies, promoted in Belém, capital of Pará, by Ibram (Brazilian Mining Institute). Afterwards, he spoke with the Sheet. Read below the main excerpts of his interview.

For you, who know the Amazon well, what would be the main wealth of this region in the 21st century?

It makes Brazil the great global superpower of biodiversity and environmental conservation. I am clear that it makes Brazil decisive in the fight against global warming. Without the protection, preservation and restoration of the Amazon, the world will not achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, much less achieve neutrality in emissions.

Therefore, it is a priority for the forest conservation and reconstitution agenda to be global. If deforestation is not stopped, the Amazon may no longer act as a climate change containment wall and will emit greenhouse gases.

I think the most blunt number I can present to measure the challenge is that in the last 40 years the forest area has shrunk by the equivalent of France and Germany together.

Mr. mentioned in his lecture that the Amazon is the victim of a conflict between economic development and preservation…

It’s more than that. There are very poor and vulnerable communities in the region that lead us to the dilemma between destruction and conservation. I mention destruction because many of these communities are persuaded or forced to act in parallel activities, illegal mining, illicit crops, drug trafficking.

How can we show them that they can live much better in the conservation economy if they resist the temptation to gain from the illegal economy? I believe the answer lies in green finance. Carbon credits, environmental or ecosystem services are alternatives to dissuade these communities.

But, in this case, the presence and strong action of the State is necessary. Mr. Do you see any forceful action by the Brazilian government?

There is a reality that we cannot hide. We are seeing constant forest loss not just in Brazil, but in the eight countries where we find the Amazon biome. To save the planet, there is no other alternative than zero deforestation — and we will only have zero deforestation if we combine carrots and sticks, as we say in Colombia.

Carrot for investments in the preservation economy. Strong garrote against criminality.

The legislation needs to be updated. In many of these countries, environmental offenses do not carry a prison sentence. There needs to be coordination so that laws have joint effect, also because these countries are borders. Illegal mining intertwines with drug trafficking across borders. This new economy depends on the rule of law.

How would this action joint more efficient?

The public force needs to act more densely in the Amazon biome. But public force is not the only solution. It is necessary to strengthen intelligence actions. One example is the use of real-time satellites to identify illegal transport of forest products or occasional deforestation. Conduct constant chemical tests on rivers to monitor harmful substances such as mercury.

But, as we have transnational crimes, I defend Amazonian governance. The cooperation treaty signed in 1978 is very interesting, beautiful, had many announcements and declarations, but we need a pact that transforms the Amazon region into a priority for the eight rulers of the region.

In a practical sense, this priority requires some sort of multinational force to tackle organized crime in the region.

How to defend and integrate communities indigenous?

This is an important issue and affects Brazil in particular, as it has the largest indigenous population in the biome. There are about 600,000 indigenous people.

They need to be recognized as protectors and guardians of the biome — and rewarded for doing so. There is a lot of talk about green economy projects, but the money is not enough for them. They really need to be part of these projects.

During his government, for two years, 2019 and 2020, Colombia was identified as a leader in the murder of environmentalists. What happened at that moment?

First, I want to say that I reject any kind of murder, against any current. Those who used those tragedies to attack me politically are now silent, because social leaders continue to be murdered in Colombia.

This is very sad, because they are among the victims of drug trafficking, as well as illegal mining, wood smuggling, trafficking in native species.

That’s why I particularly fought against the drug cartels and their heads, and we managed to arrest one of the biggest killers of social leaders, Otoniel [Dairo Antonio Úsuga, líder do Clã do Golfo, capturado na Colômbia em 2021 e, neste ano,] Sentenced in the United States to 45 years. It worries me that today the Colombian government is permissive with organized crime.

When mr. was president, he made possible the legalization of the export of marijuana flower. At this time, the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil is considering the decriminalization of possession of marijuana for personal consumption. What is your position on marijuana?

We act for WAnnabis medicinal. For this plant to have the required medicinal effects, it needs to go through an intense industrial process. That is, it depends on high investments because it is a pharmaceutical process. It’s not something anyone does in their backyard.

We made legislation for the export of dried flowers, and that also depends on investments, because the flower needs to undergo chemical processes. We made bets on a pharmaceutical sector.

Now, as far as recreational marijuana use is concerned, I’m against it. It’s not sectarianism, but I believe you have to consider reality. When a teenager from a vulnerable family turns to drugs, it spells doom for that family. If the young person is middle or upper class, he can seek rehabilitation.

In his presentation, Mr. he said that the environmental discussion is not right or left, but here in Brazil it was divided by the political spectrum. What mr. What would you say to conservatives who oppose environmental conservation and claim that there is no such thing as climate change?

A lot of people describe me as being from the extreme right to attack me, but I’m from the extreme center, and I’m an environmentalist at heart and conscience. I am convinced that protecting the environment has no ideology. Those who still don’t see the climate crisis, for me, are denialists.

The previous government, of Jair Bolsonaro, was on the right, and the current one, of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is on the left. What is the parallel that Mr. do about the two managements in the environmental area?

I have a view that may be controversial. The Bolsonaro government signed the Leticia Pact [acordo de cooperação para ações para proteção da Amazônia]. I worked with the Minister of Agriculture Tereza Cristina on the strategy for low-carbon agriculture, and with the Ministry of the Environment on actions to protect corals and the forest. So I would be a liar if I didn’t recognize that I worked very well with the Bolsonaro government.

President Lula’s government has an even stronger discourse and I celebrate this position, because we really need Brazil to defend the Amazon.

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Ivan Duque, 47

A lawyer and former senator, he was president of Colombia from 2018 to 2022. He was the spokesman for the “no” vote in the plebiscite on the Peace Accords in the country. With liberal positions in the economy, he was elected by the Democratic Center, a party that defines itself as center, but is considered right-wing.

_{The reporter traveled at the invitation of Ibram (Brazilian Mining Institute).}