Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Palestinian Ministry of Health: Two were martyred in Israeli shelling that targeted a besieged house in the town of Qabatiya in Jenin
At least 68 dead in migrant shipwreck off Yemen: IOM
Trump: We want to feed the people in Gaza, we do not want them to starve.
US President Donald Trump: We will impose sanctions on Russia if it does not end the war on Ukraine.
Israeli media: Polls show that 52% oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while only 29% support him.
Israeli media: 32% of Americans still support "Israel's" war on Hamas, while 60% oppose it.
Israeli media: Core US support for "Israel" hits its lowest, while support for Palestine reaches its highest levels.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent reports martyrs, injuries in Israeli bombardment of home in Heker al-Jame area in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza.
Al-Quds Governorate: Today, the spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque began in a public and dangerous manner, and we warn of a religious war in the region
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: This brings the total number of victims of famine and malnutrition to 175, including 93 children

Brazil rancher to pay $50 mln for damaging Amazon rainforest

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 25 Jul 2024 16:51
  • 2 Shares
4 Min Read

Recent research has found that half of the Amazon rainforest may reach a tipping point by 2050.

Listen
  • x
  • Brazil rancher to pay $50 mln for damaging Amazon rainforest
    Cattle graze on land recently burned and deforested by cattle farmers near Novo Progresso, Para State, Brazil, on August 23, 2020. (AP)

A Brazilian cattle rancher has been forced to pay more than $50 million for destroying a portion of the Amazon rainforest and to rebuild the valuable carbon sink.

Last Monday, a Brazilian federal court seized Dirceu Kruger's assets to compensate for the climatic harm he created via unlawful deforestation. The complaint was brought on behalf of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA). It is the greatest civil lawsuit initiated for climate crimes in Brazil to date, and it marks the beginning of a judicial campaign to remedy and prevent rainforest harm.

IBAMA had already ordered Kruger to pay damages after damaging 5,600 hectares (13,838 acres) in the Amazonian communities of Boca do Acre and Lábrea. This occurred on federal and state-owned public property in Amazonas.

The rancher used chainsaws to cut undergrowth, then ignited fires to clean the field before planting grass to create pasture for cattle. Satellite photographs revealed the extent of the destruction, and Kruger acknowledged causing it on film.

The Amazon rainforest is critical to the global climate system, yet it is badly threatened by both legal and illicit activity; recent research found that half of it may reach a tipping point by 2050.

Claims against Kruger include that he harmed the climate in two ways: buying vegetation directly and destroying trees, stopping them from absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. 

The court heard that harming the Amazon rainforest releases an average of 161 tons of carbon per acre, for a total of 901,600 tons.

Related News

Saving the Amazon: Lula to host South American summit, fulfill promise

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon forest decreased by 68% in April

The total harm is evaluated at $65 ton based on an average of the US Environmental Protection Agency's and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) social cost of carbon calculations. Recent estimates indicate costs are far greater.

Damage created can 'never be repaired'

Kruger's assets have been frozen, and he is barred from obtaining government financing or tax breaks as well as selling livestock or agricultural goods and machinery like chainsaws and tractors.

Furthermore, Kruger must rehabilitate the damaged land so that it may once again serve as a useful carbon sink. The court stated that having offenders pay compensation for climate harm is critical since the damage created can never be repaired.

This was Brazil's attorney general's office's largest claim to date for rainforest damage, and it was meant to be "just the first of a series of actions that seek to repair the climate damage caused by the destruction not only of the Amazon but of all Brazilian biomes".

Mariana Cirne of the National Prosecutor's Office for Climate and Environmental Defense stated that the case's outcome was "a matter of climate justice" and would assist Brazil fulfill its national emission objectives.

The ruling has yet to be finalized by the court and may yet be challenged. Several similar lawsuits are making their way through Brazil's court system. The lawsuits are not limited to those who actively harm the Amazon rainforest. Importação e Exportação de Madeiras Floresta Verde faces a lawsuit for allegedly hoarding timber from unlawful deforestation.

Rafaela Santos Martins da Rosa, a federal judge, stated that quantifying the overall social cost of this destruction serves to dissuade future illicit action.

The court emphasized that the Kruger verdict did not allow for allegations of legal deforestation, but da Rosa stated that civil proceedings of this nature might be taken against public officials.

Brazil's federal government was ordered to reestablish a strategy to prevent and manage deforestation in the Amazon early this year, as well as monitor and investigate environmental crimes.

The court acknowledged that Brazil's environmental policy was still being modified following the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022, but noted that more might be done.

  • Brazil
  • Amazon
  • Amazon Rainforest
  • Amazon's deforestation
  • Brasilia

Most Read

A rescued crew member from the ETERNITY C vessel in a video released by the Yemeni Armed Forces on July 28, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemen Navy reveals fate of targeted Eternity C ship crew

  • Politics
  • 28 Jul 2025
An Israeli tank explodes following an ambush by al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza, Occupied Palestine, undated (Al-Qassam Military Media)

Al-Qassam strikes Israeli vehicles in Gaza, inflicts casualties

  • Politics
  • 30 Jul 2025
UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

  • Politics
  • 1 Aug 2025
Protesters chant anti-Israeli slogans as they carry a banner that reads:" Freedom for Palestine, Alliance stop the war," during a demonstration in support of Palestinians in Gaza, outside the Israeli embassy, in Athens, Monday, June 9, 2025 (AP)

Athens mayor slams Israeli ambassador over Gaza war, graffiti claim

  • Politics
  • 3 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A member of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, takes part in a parade as he celebrates a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and the Israeli regime in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, January 19, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Al-Qassam: We’ll allow aid to Israeli captives if Gaza siege ends

Freed Lebanese freedom fighter Georges Abdallah during an interview on Al Mayadeen, which aired on Sunday, August 3, 2025 (Al Mayadeen screengrab)
Politics

Exclusive: Resistance key to building state, Georges Abdallah says

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres gives a statement about the situation in Gaza at UN headquarters, Friday, June 27, 2025 (AP)
Politics

UN warns Gaza faces water crisis, looming famine under Israeli siege

Israeli soldiers drive their armored personnel carrier along the Gaza Strip, in southern occupied Palestine, Wednesday, July 30, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ex-Israeli general says Gaza starvation campaign isolated 'Israel'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS