Giving Brazil's rainforest a break from mass exploitation

DW (English)

Brazilian farmer Izete Costa demonstrates how to make a living while also protecting the rainforest. Growing cocoa sustainably on the island of Combu, her business covers the entire production process from the cocoa bean to the bar of chocolate.

Transcript

00:00 Bright and yellow.

00:02 That's how the cocoa pot needs to look like so Izet Costa can harvest it.

00:11 This is of good quality. It is still a bit acidy though.

00:18 But once we ferment it, that acidity will go away.

00:26 Izet Costa has been growing cocoa for 40 years.

00:30 It's a self-made family business.

00:32 She invested her own resources in farming sustainably.

00:35 On her seven hectares here on the island of Cambu,

00:39 she follows the rules of agroforestry,

00:42 combining agriculture with the natural environment,

00:46 without chopping trees or chemical fertilizers,

00:49 and in sync with nature.

00:51 Political leaders in the Amazon regions want to boost sustainable bioeconomies

00:56 to protect the forest.

00:58 We need leaders to really sign an agrarian reform

01:06 so that small producers have access to microcredit,

01:13 which has incentives, such as help with machinery.

01:19 It's not to become a big industry, but small traditional industries.

01:25 Small industries like hers process everything themselves,

01:31 from the cocoa bean to a proper regional area of chocolate that Costa is proud of.

01:36 And an investment could also give nature some respite from mass exploitation

01:43 and help regenerate degraded areas.

01:47 20% of Brazil's Amazon rainforests have been affected by destruction

01:52 mainly due to agricultural activities.

01:55 And projects like this year close to Belém could show the way

01:59 to a more sustainable agriculture that at the same time

02:02 also provides income for local communities.

02:05 But as ever, keeping the balance is paramount.

02:08 The demand for products from the region, such as cocoa, is on the rise.

02:13 Increasing the risk of creating monoculture that further damages the forest.

02:18 Biologist Patrícia Pino therefore urges that the concept of bioeconomies,

02:23 in order to work, needs to strongly focus on local communities,

02:27 who are victims of the destruction of the Amazon region.

02:30 They want to have their territory demarcated, protected.

02:36 They want to have autonomy to the decisions that concern their territory.

02:44 They want their future generations, their kids, to be able to see

02:48 the same products or practices that they already have.

02:51 So I think that's something that we should be really keeping in mind.

02:55 They want their livelihoods to be maintained.

02:58 Therefore, it's quality over quantity.

03:01 That is also the way to go for Iset Costa.

03:04 A cocoa farmer who has long understood that the future of a healthy rainforest

03:09 is determining the future of mankind.

03:12 the future of mankind.

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