Brazil’s environment calls for help!

Jair Bolsonaro’s victory is likely to further reduce investments in several of Brazil’s strategic sectors, such as education and other important departments concerning the development of the nation and the quality of life of Brazilians, as these are not the priority issues for his government (Editorial 2018). The prioritization and maintenance of existing investments in strategic institutions, particularly in Brazilian universities, is important to promote the development of the nation, because almost all research produced in the country is performed in these institutions (ABC 2019). Such research includes the studies aimed, for example, at preserving the environment and combating the use of pesticides. The reduction in financial resources allocated to the two federal environmental agencies, the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) and the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), is of particular significance when considering environmental issues. It should be considered a threat to nature, and especially to the world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon, which has been affected by deforestation and biodiversity decline for years. Many Brazilian scientists estimate that almost 7,000 km2 of the Amazon had been deforested by 2017 (Tollefson 2018), which can further increase deforestation in this region, as it happened in 2019. That is, according to the data from the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE 2019), deforestation in the Amazon region due to fires and the acceleration of mining activities increased by 29.54% in 2019, a significant rise compared to 2018 (Brazilian National Institute for Space Research 2019). Natural resources and ecosystems in Brazil continue to disappear, and getting support from the universities, development agencies, research institutes and indigenous communities at this time is of crucial importance.