China and Brazil on Friday announced a new joint initiative to stop deforestation and manage illegal commerce that destroys forests.
The two countries stated in a joint statement that they want to work together to effectively enforce their national laws prohibiting illicit imports and exports in order to help the elimination of global illegal logging and deforestation.
The President of Brazil, Lula da Silva met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during a visit to China, in a bid to strengthen ties. China is Brazil’s largest trading partner and a major importer of commodities such as soy and crude petroleum.
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Both countries noted that they would cooperate with satellite information, “which will enable enhanced monitoring”. China and Brazil share the CBERS satellite program, which made its first launch back in 2001.
Cyntia Feitosa, international relations advisor at the Brazilian think tank Instituto Clima e Sociedade, said the joint statement was “a very good signal”, but warned there are still questions about how it would be put into practice.
“It would be very good to see some joint traceability strategy, for example, to avoid the export of any product that has deforestation in its supply chain,” Feitosa said.
Story was adapted from Climate Home News
