Brazil's Eucalyptus Invasion

Based on an international delegation of the STOP GE Tree Campaign to Brazil in May of 2023, the film features interviews with members of the Quilombola communities, the Ofayé people, and members of the Landless Workers' Movement (MST), providing a comprehensive view of the fight for land sovereignty and against the ecological and social impacts of eucalyptus plantations.
The documentary exposes the dark side of the pulp industry in Brazil and its massive-scale eucalyptus plantations on local communities and biodiversity. Eucalyptus plantations, spanning regions in South America, southern Africa, southern Europe, and Australia, have been linked to water shortages, pollution from agrochemicals, and a total loss of biodiversity.
Brazil, as the world's largest eucalyptus producer, plays a significant role in this destructive industry. With approximately 7.6 million hectares of eucalyptus plantations, Brazil accounts for 30 percent of the world's total. The states of Bahía and Espírito Santo have witnessed the replacement of the diverse Atlantic Forest ecosystem with eucalyptus plantations, covering nearly three-quarters of some municipalities' land area. Corporations such as Suzano export eucalyptus as pulp for various products, including toilet paper.
The introduction of genetically engineered (GE) eucalyptus varieties approved in Brazil threatens to further exacerbate the ecological and social destruction caused by the industry. These GE trees, resistant to pesticides, are likely to increase the use of toxic chemicals such as Roundup, the glyphosate-based weedkiller. Additionally, engineered traits including insect-resistance and increased growth rates, pose a greater threat to the environment while benefiting the pulp and paper industry.
Learn more at globaljusticeecology.org

[@rainforest_eye]

Eucalyptus are bad for South America. They are a full on invasive species in Colombia, making it impossible for deforested cloud forest areas to naturally regenerate. It's harder for epiphytes to grow on them, and their toxic leaf litter prevents philodendrons and other classic neotropical plants from growing. They pose a similar threat in some parts of the Mata Atlantica of Brasil, but not quite as extreme because they aren't as invasive at least not in the areas I visited. They are cultivated commercially more in Brasil, but as this documentary points out these plantations have a negative effect on the community and environment. I saw a massive plantation next to Rio Doce Start Park, in Minas Gerais. Though the park staff preferred the eucalyptus to other types of agriculture because animals can use it as a corridor. But I saw nature naturally fight back, with a species of ant decimating massive sections of the plantation.

[@raclark2730]

I suspect that Eucalypt infiltration would also a big factor in fire risk.

[@TommyFink-y6c]

Lewis Scott Clark Kimberly Lopez Matthew

[@isiahfriedlander5559]

Isn't it good for carbon capturing?

[@AnnePetermann-k4q]

Hi, thanks for asking. While it is argued by the timber and pulp industries that "planting trees" is good for the climate because trees absorb carbon, it is crucial to note that the industrial tree plantations developed by industry to feed their huge polluting mills are NOT the same as native forests, which are very effective carbon sinks - if undisturbed. But the non-native eucalyptus plantations in Brazil are not only biodiversity-poor, they are carbon-poor. A study by the EPA and the World Resources Institute found that industrial tree plantations store about 1/4 the carbon of a native forest, which is because forests store carbon in the soils, in the biodiversity of the forest - much more than just the trees. As an article in the New York Times pointed out "Planting the wrong trees in the wrong place can actually reduce biodiversity, speeding extinctions and making ecosystems far less resilient." www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/climate/tree-planting-reforestation-climate.html

[@jerkoool]

The video talks about that around 30 min mark.

[@rainforest_eye]

A grove of natural neotropical forest captures more CO2, produces more oxygen and stores more water than a eucalyptus grove. They also make the soil more toxic making it hard for man neotropical plants to grow. The only advantage of eucalyptus is it grows fast and can be harvested faster. But during its growth period it sucks up more water than the average tree.

[@deidradahl2802]

@@rainforest_eye Spot on. In one of the African countries, the government decided to plant thousands of eucalyptus trees along a river. The experts advised against it, but the leaders went ahead. Within 2 years, the river was bone dry.