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Straits Times
07-08-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Brazil's fish industry, hit with a 50% US tariff, seeks a lifeline
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Residents look at fishes displayed at the Port of Manaus in Manaus, Brazil, April 4, 2020. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly/File Photo SAO PAULO - Brazil's seafood industry is sounding the alarm to pressure the federal government for immediate relief as it grapples with mounting fears of job losses and bankruptcies as a result of the 50% tariffs the U.S. imposed on most Brazilian exports on Wednesday. The new levies made the future highly uncertain for Brazilian fishing companies, which sell close to $400 million worth of seafood to the U.S. a year, or about 70% of the sector's annual exports. "This situation renders our business unviable," said Arimar França Filho, the head of a fishing union in Brazil's northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte. "While the domestic market can absorb some of our production, it cannot take it all, and we cannot have all our boats fishing solely for Brazil. "The fish industry is calling for an emergency credit line of 900 million reais ($165 million) to navigate the new economic climate. It is also pushing the government to deepen negotiations aimed at reopening the European market, which has been closed to Brazilian fish exports since 2017. Even as producers scrambled to get their goods to the U.S. ahead of the tariffs that hit on Wednesday, some fishing boats had already been sidelined to prevent excess production, the union leader said. Eduardo Lobo, president of the lobby group Abipesca, said that the sector has no other short-term alternative. "Without credit, it's impossible to maintain inventories, honor commitments, and preserve jobs," he warned in a statement, estimating that the tariffs could affect some 20,000 jobs if authorities fail to respond quickly. "There could be giant unemployment, not tomorrow," said Attilio Sergio Leardini, founding partner at Leardini Pescados, one of Brazil´s largest suppliers, which exports to several countries, including the U.S. "But maybe in six months, in a year, some segments may be halting production." Leardini is most worried about premium products – such as lobster, tuna, and croaker fish – which are highly sought after by the U.S. market but are unlikely to find enough buyers in Brazil, particularly at the prices American consumers pay. Many fishermen are desperate, believing they won't find consumers to pay prices that support a reasonable standard of living for their families. "But as we know, it's not in our control," said França Filho, the union leader. Fishermen, he predicted, will see reduced prices starting this week, while Brazilian consumers are likely to find cheaper fish in the supermarket aisle within a month. That much was happy news to Michel de Oliveira França, the owner of a fish shop in the city of Niteroi, in Rio de Janeiro. "The cheaper, the better," he said. "The tendency is to sell more and more." REUTERS
DW
17-06-2025
- Climate
- DW
Drought has many faces and many impacts – DW – 06/17/2025
Extreme drought and water shortages are increasingly harming crops, the economy and the lives of people around the world. But drought doesn't have the same impact everywhere. What can we do to alleviate water crises? After a dry European spring, farmers across some parts of the continent are worried about this year's crops. And the concerns are notunique to Europe. As global temperatures are pushed up by the burning of coal, oil and gas, other parts of the world are also experiencing longer periods of drought. But not all droughts equal, and each type comes with its own set of consequences. Meteorological and agricultural droughts A study released this year by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) showed that periods of extreme drought have increased globally over the last 40 years. The global average of drought-stricken land has increased by around 50,000 square kilometers (about 19,300 square miles) every year, an area roughly the size of Slovakia. In Sicily, Italy, this former watering hole — once a vital resource for a local farmer — has been reduced to a sandy pit Image: Andrew Medichini/AP Photo/picture alliance People in northern Chile have been living with drought for the last 14 years, while in the southwestern US — states like Arizona, New Mexico and parts of California, for instance — the last three years have been extremely dry. Meteorological drought is defined by comparing actual conditions to the average amount of precipitation in a certain area, making them region specific. The German Weather Service, for examples, calls a meteorological drought a period of one or two months of unusually dry weather, with little precipitation. If the ground is parched, farmers are having trouble securing water, plants aren't growing properly and crops are reduced or even fail completely, it is known as an agricultural drought. Hydrological drought This occurs when water levels in rivers, lakes and underground natural reserves fall below a specific minimum, and freshwater supplies are almost completely dry. Hydrological drought often occurs after a longer meteorological drought. For the German Weather Service, that means a period of at least four months of unusually dry conditions. In October 2024, ships in Brazil's Rio Negro were left high and dry in one of the region's worst droughts since 1950 Image: Bruno Kelly/REUTERS More and more regions around the world are experiencing above-average dryness. By 2050, the World Bank has predicted that people living in much of Africa, Southeast Asia, parts of the US and South America will see even greater problems. In Cyprus, rivers and reservoirs are empty The Mediterranean island of Cyprus is currently experiencing both an agricultural and hydrological drought. Rain has been scarce for many weeks — reservoirs are empty, riverbeds are dry and dusty and farmers don't have enough to keep their crops alive. Recent media reports have said this year's harvest is at risk of failure. "Last year was already bad, but this is the second year that is very dry," said Adriana Bruggeman, an associate professor at the Cyprus Institute's Energy, Environment and Water Research Center. Bruggeman explained that the winter months are usually a time of more precipitation, giving lakes and rivers the chance to refill. But when that rain doesn't fall, the reservoirs in Cyprus remain empty. "We're not in a good condition," she said. Farmers in Cyprus struggle with water shortages To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Socioeconomic drought It's not always easy to strictly differentiate between the different types of drought, as several phenomena can occur in parallel. Most droughts that people actually notice are of the socioeconomic kind, according to Dirk Karger of the WSL in Switzerland. These occur when extremely dry conditions have a direct effect on society and the economy — when the lack of water make certain goods or electricity more expensive, or even scarce. During a period of extreme drought in Spain and Italy in 2024, there were times when water supplies were rationed. In the same period in neighboring France, several nuclear plants had to be temporarily shut down due to insufficient water to cool the reactors. And in Zimbabwe, a hydroelectric plant was unable to provide electricity due to water shortages, resulting in power outages. Droughts can also have dramatic social and economic consequences. In many regions, including Sudan, South Suden and Mali, persistent droughts have exacerbated hunger . "If we look to the West, in the US, where there's been water shortages for the last decade, there have also been repercussions on the water supply," said Karger. "The same thing in Chile, where there's been some real damage." The western states of California and Nevada have experienced months of drought, contributing to the conditions that have saw devastating wildfires during the winter months — most notably in Los Angeles in January. Ecological drought The effects of severe drought, according to Germany's Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research, are often underestimated — even though they often cause much greater economic damage than storms, floods or heavy rain. Unlike these extreme weather events, droughts don't come with an early warning sign. And how bad a drought will end up being is only known long after it has begun. In the US alone, droughts are responsible for between $6-9 billion in damages every year. As a result, researchers are increasingly highlighting a fifth type of event: ecological drought. This describes how periods of extreme drought can destabilize animals, plants and entire ecosystems. How can cities adapt to water cycle 'whiplash'? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A severe drop in groundwater levels and soil moisture can lead to irreversible effects for ecosystems — and people. These include widespread crop failure, increased tree death, reduced ecosystem productivity and a threat to water supplies, WSL researchers highlighted in their study. Drought spares no landscape. A severe drought is almost immediately noticeable on grasslands, but these find it easier to bounce back after the rains return. Forests, on the other hand, can't recover as easily and may experience lasting damage from the same weather conditions. Drought also raises the risks in other disasters. A heavy rain after a long period of dryness, for example, can overwhelm dried out soils. The ground can't absorb the sudden masses of water, leading to flooding, landslides and raging mudflows. What can we do to save water and survive drought? To prevent droughts from becoming even more severe in the future, experts say we must do everything to limit climate change as quickly as possible. At the same time, people will need to adapt to increasing long periods without rain. Finding ways to use the available water more efficiently, both at home and in industry, is essential. Places like Singapore are leading the way when it comes to water conservation. This collection basin helps Singapore to collect and efficiently store rainwater Image: Aleksandr Simonov/Depositphotos/Imago Images The city-state in Southeast Asia is a world leader when it comes to collecting rainwater. Water reservoirs have been set up throughout the city, ready to collect any rain that falls from the sky. These reservoirs deliver drinking water during periods of dry weather, and help to cool the city during heat waves. Water treatment plants reclaim wastewater, turning it back into drinking water. So far, Singapore is one of the few countries to do so much to conserve water. Its strategy is an excellent example for other cities and regions, and could help them to prepare for water shortages. Efficiency is another potential way to save water. Around the world, cities lose huge volumes of the precious resource due to leaky or broken pipes. In Italy, some 40% of the country's freshwater is lost on the way to the consumer; in Europe, about a quarter of drinking water is wasted due to inadequate management practices. Regular repair and maintenance of pipes, including regularly checking them for leaks, would help to protect water supplies worldwide. How Singapore is going from water rags to riches To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This article was originally written in German.
Straits Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
EU brands just four countries as 'high risk' under deforestation law
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows deforested land ready for agriculture near the Madeira river in Humaita in Amazonas state, Brazil, September 4, 2024. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly/File Photo EU brands just four countries as 'high risk' under deforestation law BRUSSELS -Commodities from just four countries will face the strictest checks under the European Union's anti-deforestation law, with major forest nations including Brazil and Indonesia spared the toughest rules. In a legal act published on Thursday, the European Commission said the law would categorise goods imported from Belarus, Myanmar, North Korea and Russia as a "high risk" of fuelling deforestation. Countries including Brazil and Indonesia, which have historically been among the countries with the highest rates of deforestation, will be labelled as "standard risk" - which means they will face lighter compliance checks on goods exported to Europe. The United States was among the countries labelled as "low-risk", thus facing less stringent due diligence rules. The EU law will apply to soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa and coffee, and some derived products including leather, chocolate and furniture. Companies in high risk and standard risk countries will need to show when and where the commodities were produced and "verifiable" information that they were not grown on land deforested after 2020. A key difference between the groups is that EU countries will be required to carry out compliance checks covering 9% of companies exporting from countries with a high risk of deforestation, 3% from standard-risk countries and 1% for low-risk countries. Failure to comply could result in fines of up to 4% of a company's turnover in an EU member state. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
21-05-2025
- Science
- The Star
Amazon fires drive unprecedented global forest loss in 2024, report says
FILE PHOTO: A view of a farm near a forest fire in the Amazon in an area of the Trans-Amazonian Highway BR230 in Labrea, Amazonas state, Brazil September 4, 2024. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly/File Photo SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Massive fires fueled by climate change led global forest loss to smash records in 2024, according to a report issued on Wednesday. Loss of tropical pristine forests alone reached 6.7 million hectares (16.6 million acres), an 80% spike compared to 2023 and an area roughly the size of Panama, mainly because Brazil, the host of the next global climate summit in November, struggled to contain fires in the Amazon amid the worst drought ever recorded in the rainforest. A myriad of other countries, including Bolivia and Canada, were also ravaged by wildfires. It was the first time the annual report, issued by the World Resources Institute and the University of Maryland, showed fires as the leading cause of tropical forest loss, a grim milestone for a naturally humid ecosystem that is not supposed to burn. "The signals in these data are particularly frightening," said Matthew Hansen, the co-director of alab at the University of Maryland that compiled and analyzed the data. "The fear is that the climate signal is going to overtake our ability to respond effectively." Latin America was hit particularly hard, the report said, with the Amazon biome hitting its highest level of primary forest loss since 2016. Brazil, which holds the largest share of the world's tropical forests, lost 2.8 million hectares (6.9 million acres), the most of any country. It was a reversal ofthe progress made in 2023 when President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office promising to protect the world's largest rainforest. 'This was unprecedented, which means we have to adapt all our policy to a new reality,' said Andre Lima, who oversees deforestation control policies for Brazil's Ministry of Environment, adding that fire, which was never among the leading causes of forest loss, is now a top priority for the government. Bolivia overtook the Democratic Republic of Congo as the second country with the most tropical forest loss despite having less than half the amount of forest as the African nation, which also saw a spike in forest loss last year. Bolivia's forest loss surged by 200% in 2024, with a drought, wildfires and a government-incentivized agricultural expansion as the leading causes. Across Latin America, the report noted similar trends in Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. Conflicts in Colombia and the Democratic Republic of Congo also boosted deforestation rates, as armed groups used up natural resources. Outside the tropics, boreal forests, which evolved with seasonal fires, also posted record-high tree loss in 2024, with Canada and Russia each losing 5.2 million hectares (12.8 million acres) in 2024 as wildfires got out of control. Southeast Asia bucked the global trend with Malaysia, Laos, and Indonesia all posting double-digit decreases in primary forest loss, as domestic conservation policy, combined with efforts by communities and the private sector, continued to effectively contain fires and agricultural expansion. Another outlier was the Charagua Iyambae Indigenousterritory in southern Bolivia, which was able to keep the country's record fires at bay through land-use policies and early warning systems. Rod Taylor, the global director for forests at the WRI, said that as leaders descend on the Amazonian city of Belem for the next climate summit, he would like to see countries make progress in introducing better funding mechanisms for conservation. "At the moment," he said, "there's more money to be paid by chopping forests down than keeping them standing." (Reporting by Manuela Andreoni and Alexander Villegas; Editing by Chris Reese)
