Since taking office on Jan. 1, left-leaning Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has moved quickly to reverse the environmental policies of his right-wing predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro. Among his first steps was to create a 19-member inter-ministerial commission charged with drafting a nationwide plan to combat deforestation, which accelerated dramatically under the Bolsonaro administration.
Brazil’s iconic araucaria trees, whose tufted branches also give them the name candelabra tree, are being pushed toward extinction as government agencies continue to ignore or even abet in their logging, experts say. The araucaria (Araucaria angustifolia) is a species native to the cooler and higher-elevation regions of southern Brazil. It can grow to a […]