Help restore Brazil’s governance of globally important ecosystem services

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To the Editor — Since 2005, successful conservation policies have made Brazil a global example of environmental governance, in particular expanding Protected Areas and Indigenous Lands, developing advanced monitoring systems to detect vegetation loss, and intervening in soy and beef supply chains1. Now, the administration of president Jair Bolsonaro is dismantling the country’s social– environmental policies2, jeopardizing the governance of globally important ecosystem services3 (Supplementary Table 1). Brazil is a country with an immense responsibility towards humanity. First, because it contains the largest portion of the Amazon rainforest, a critical element stabilizing the Earth’s climate system4. Second, its well-conserved terrestrial ecosystems store immense amounts of carbon and 12% of global water resources5. Third, its terrestrial and marine ecosystems harbour 10% of the world’s biodiversity5, including many species useful for food, medicine and construction (Fig. 1). Moreover, Brazil’s cultural diversity includes over 300 ethnic groups that preserve ancient Indigenous Ecological Knowledge5 and have historically provided essential services for societies5,6.