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Deforestation main environmental concern among Brazilians

A survey was conducted by an independent company

Published on 11/06/2019 - 17:17 By Alana Gandra - Rio de Janeiro

A global survey dubbed Earth Day 2019, conducted from February 22 to March 8 this year by Ipsos—a market research firm active in 89 countries—reveals that deforestation ranks first among concerns expressed by Brazilians concerning the environment. The study was carried out in 28 countries and heard 19.5 thousand people, a thousand of whom Brazilians. Deforestation was considered the most important topic by 53 percent of respondents. Globally, the topic held as most important was global warming.

“Global warming is also among the most important topics in Brazil, but deforestation is most striking, as it is much more mentioned than the global average,” Ipsos Business Director Karen Klas told Agência Brasil. Klas said that Brazilians’ reponse was a combination of the amount of natural reserves in the country, the visibility of the Amazon in this connection, and also debates regarding government policies. In Russia, which has larger forest areas than Brazil, a mere 20 percent of interviewees see deforestation as a priority.

Second in Brazil comes water pollution (44%), followed by how to deal with produced waste (36%), global warming (29%), and the depletion of natural resources (23%). Floods were mentioned by 18 percent—two of every ten Brazilians, or twice the global average for this issue (9%).

Elsewhere in the world, the topics named as most worrisome as far as the environment is concerned were air pollution (35%), how to deal with garbage (34%), and water pollution (25%). Deforestation ranks fifth, with 24 percent.

Pollution and trash

Karen Klas noted that water pollution is an issue closely connected with the amount of garbage produced by the population. Non-recycled waste also has Brazilian concerned. Nine out of every ten respondents (89%) are concerned or very concerned about the effects plastic packages and other objects that cannot be recycled may have on the environment.

Very concerned people added up to 60 percent. Globally, 81 percent of respondents are concerned about the problem. Klas remarked that the more this topic is debated by people, the closer they are to understanding that this can have a negative impact on their lives and the world.

Who is going to pay for this?

Not everyone is willing to address the issue, however. When asked whose responsibility it was for the problem of plastic packages, the most-often named culpris was everyone (40%), followed by manufacturers, with 19 percent, and the government, with 15 percent.

“But when we asked what you were personally willing to do, Brazilians are not necessarily in line with the global average. For instance, as for buying products made of recycled materials, we are slightly more willing than the rest of the world. But when we talked about reusing disposable materials, of the 18 countries listed, Brazil ranks 14th. So, it’s not that important a priority when we talk about personal behavioral changes.”

Only 12 percent of Brazilians would invest in their own resources to encourage brands that use recycled packages, and only 11 percent are willing to pay more taxes for the enhancement of recycling stations, Klas reported.

In the opinion of 48 percent of Brazilians, the main way to mitigate the impact is to force the local government to spend more with recycling so that more items can undergo this process. The global average stood at 46 percent. In Brazil, respondents believe in awareness raising campaigns (40%) than the rest of the world (27%).

Ipsos’s idea is to conduct this research once a year in the same period, in a bid to understand the progress made in sustainability.

Translation: Fabrício Ferreira -  Edition: Fernando Fraga / Augusto Queiroz

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