Latest news with #Santarém
Reuters
20-06-2025
- Science
- Reuters
Insight: A corporate deal that protected the Amazon from soy farming starts to show cracks
SANTAREM, Brazil, June 20 (Reuters) - Brazilian soy farmers are pushing further into the Amazon rainforest to plant more of their crops, putting pressure on a landmark deal signed two decades ago aimed at slowing deforestation. Many are taking advantage of a loophole in the Amazon Soy Moratorium, a voluntary agreement signed by the world's top grain traders in 2006 that they would not buy soy grown on land deforested after 2008. The Moratorium, opens new tab protects old-growth rainforest that has never before been cleared, but excludes many other kinds of vegetation and forests that have regrown on previously cleared land, known as secondary forests. While this land is also important for preserving the fragile Amazon biome, farmers can raze it and plant soy without violating the terms of the Moratorium and could even market it as deforestation-free. The most recent official annual report on the Moratorium, which covers the crop year 2022-2023, showed that soy planted on virgin forest has almost tripled between 2018 and 2023 to reach 250,000 hectares, or 3.4% of all soy in the Amazon. Its study area is limited to municipalities that grow over 5,000 hectares of soy. However, Xiaopeng Song, a professor at the geographical sciences department of the University of Maryland who has tracked the expansion of soy over the past two decades, found more than four times that forest loss. Satellite data he analyzed exclusively for Reuters shows 16% of Brazilian Amazon land under production for soy, or about 1.04 million hectares, is planted where trees have been cleared since 2008, the cutoff date agreed in the Moratorium. "I would like to see secondary forest and recovered forest included in the Moratorium," said Song. "It creates loopholes if we only limit it to primary forest." Abiove, the soy industry body overseeing the Moratorium, said in a statement that the agreement aims to rein in deforestation of old-growth forests while other methodologies have broader criteria that could lead to "inflated interpretations." Reuters was unable to make a detailed comparison because Abiove declined to share granular data. Data in the Moratorium report comes from Brazil's National Institute of Space Research, and its assessments are recognized internationally and monitored independently. Abiove said it was aware that some soy was planted in areas where regrown forests had been cut. The discrepancy over how to define a forest has huge implications for conservation. Deforestation, drought and heat driven by climate change bring the rainforest closer to a tipping pointbeyond which it starts an irreversible transformation into a savannah. Most scientists are calling not only for a halt to all deforestation but also for increased efforts to reforest. Viola Heinrich, a post-doctoral researcher at the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, who has extensively studied secondary forests in the Amazon, said these were "crucial" in limiting global warming even if initially less biodiverse. "We cannot achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement without actively increasing the carbon sink," she said, referring to regenerating ecosystems that rapidly absorb and store carbon. Secondary forests absorb carbon at a faster rate than old-growth forests, but store less of it. On a scorching afternoon late last year, on the outskirts of Santarem, a port city by the Amazon River, farmers were in the last stages of clearing land. Felled trees were neatly stacked up in rows, ready to be burnt. Some of these trees were around three decades old, part of a secondary forest on land that was once razed to make way for cattle but later abandoned, satellite images showed. "What can be stolen once, can be stolen again," said Gilson Rego, of the Pastoral Land Commission, a church-affiliated group working with locals affected by deforestation, as he pointed to surrounding areas where soy had been planted. In the last five years, Rego saw the area dedicated to the crop soar. More than a dozen soy and subsistence farmers who spoke to Reuters said the main draw was the nearby Cargill terminal from where soy is shipped worldwide because it reduces costs for logistics. Cargill did not respond to requests for comment. The boom helped Brazil overtake the United States in 2020 as the world's largest soy exporter. About two thirds of it ships to China, whose largest buyer, Cofco, has signed up to the Moratorium and said earlier this year that it was committed to it. Nearly all of it is used to fatten animals for meat production. Still, Song estimated an additional 6 million hectares of the rainforest would have been lost to soy in Brazil without the Moratorium and related conservation efforts, considering the pace of expansion elsewhere. Neighboring Bolivia, he said, had become a deforestation hot spot. Brazilian farmers have always opposed the Moratorium and complained that even a small amount of deforestation can lead traders to block purchases from entire farms, a policy that Abiove is considering changing. Thousands of properties that cover some 10% of soy's footprint in the region are currently blocked. Adelino Avelino Noimann, the vice president of the soy farmers association in Para state, where Santarem is located, said the soy boom was creating opportunities in a poor country. "It's not fair that other countries in Europe could deforest and grow, and now we are held back by laws that are not even ours," said Noimann. Farming groups allied with right-wing politicians, once a fringe movement, have launched lawsuits and legislative attacks on the Moratorium in the capital Brasilia, and half a dozen major agricultural states, seeking to weaken its provisions. At the end of April, a justice from Brazil's Supreme Court said it would allow the country's biggest farming state, Mato Grosso, to withdraw tax incentives from signatories of the Moratorium. The ruling still needs to be confirmed by the full court. Andre Nassar, the president of Abiove, the soy industry body that oversees the Moratorium, has already hinted that it could weaken rules to appease farmers. "The solution is not ending the Moratorium or keeping it as it is," Nassar told senators in April. "Something needs to be done." Global traders including ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Cofco and Louis Dreyfus Company had all signed up back in 2006. Abiove and the grain traders it represents have declined to publicly discuss details but environmental group Greenpeace, which is part of some discussions, said last year that behind closed doors there was a push from traders to weaken it. Environmentalists like Andre Guimaraes, an executive director at IPAM, another nonprofit that monitors the agreement, said that even with its faults it was important. "We still see the expansion of soy in the Amazon," he said. "But it could be worse." Other environmentalists said it should be reinforced by closing loopholes. Abundant water and nutrient-rich soil are the main reasons farmers from other parts of the country, including the soy heartland Mato Grosso, have moved to Para. "Here, we can have as many as three harvests," said Edno Valmor Cortezia, the president of the local farmers union, adding that farmers there can grow soy, corn and wheat on the same plot in a single year. In the municipality Belterra near Santarem, soy expansion stopped short only at a local cemetery and school. Raimundo Edilberto Sousa Freitas, the principal, showed Reuters court records and supporting evidence for two instances when 80 children and teachers had symptoms of pesticide intoxication last year. One farmer was later fined, the records showed, but the crop continues to claim more of the area every year. Occasionally, a few imposing trees that are protected by law are left in sprawling fields of soy, the last reminder of the lush biome that was once there.
The Sun
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Who is Lando Norris' girlfriend Margarida Corceiro?
MARGARIDA CORCEIRO is the girlfriend of F1 racing driver Lando Norris, who was spotted celebrating his big win at the Monaco Grand Prix. Here's what we know about her life, newly rekindled relationship with Lando, and the pair's prior dating histories. 9 9 9 Who is Lando Norris' girlfriend Margarida Corceiro? Margarida Corceiro is a 22-year-old Portuguese actress, model, and influencer. According to her IMDB profile, she is originally from Santarém, Portugal, which is a city located an hour outside of Lisbon. Prior to her relationship with Lando Norris, Margarida most notably dated famous footballer Joao Felix for four years between 2019 and 2023. How did Lando Norris and Margarida Corceiro meet? Although not much is known about exactly how Lando and Margarida first met, the pair were first spotted together in May 2023 driving around Monaco in a classic 1972 Fiat Jolly. This sighting- and Margarida's appearances at Lando's various racing events over the following year- sparked dating rumours, but the relationship was never officially confirmed. 9 How long have Lando Norris and Margarida Corceiro been dating? Lando and Margarida are believed to have first dated on and off between 2023 and 2024. According to a close source, the pair split in August 2024 so Lando could "focus on his sport'. But of May 2025, the couple is officially back together, and Margarida was spotted at the Monaco Grand Prix over the bank holiday weekend cheering her beau on to victory alongside his mum. The win was Lando's second of the season, and the McLaren driver pulled off a perfect double pit stop to beat Charles Leclerc. 9 9 What does Margarida Corceiro do for a living? Margarida Corceiro is an actress and model by profession, and as of May 2025, she has 2million followers on Instagram, and 787k on her TikTok. She often models for brands such as Intimissimi and Alo Yoga, and appeared on the pages of Vogue Portugal in April 2025. In terms of her acting career, Margarida best-known for her roles on Portugese television programmes such as Zoe on Punto Nemo, Gabi on Morangos com Açúcar, Constança on Bem Me Quer, and Catarina on Prisioneria. She was a contestant on the Portuguese version of Dancing With The Stars in 2020, and also co-owns a swimwear and clothing brand called Missus. The brand uses fabric made from recycled ocean plastic to make their bikinis, and Margarida is often seen modelling its pieces on her socials. 9 Who has Lando Norris dated in the past? Lando Norris has a well-documented dating history, with the 25-year-old even once admitting during a lie detector test that he had "many girlfriends". 9 Before his relationship with Margarida, Lando dated Portuguese influencer Luisinha Oliveira from August 2021 to September 2022- but the pair split after text messages were leaked showing him inviting Dutch model and influencer Randi Hartman out on a McDonald's date. 9 The F1 driver also had rumoured romantic ties to Ukranian model and jewellery brand owner Katerina Berezhna.
Telegraph
23-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
The floating clinics bringing healthcare to the banks of the Amazon
In a village on the bank of the Arapiuns river, deep in the Amazon rainforest, simple houses are clustered around a church, a primary school and a football pitch. But there is no doctor's surgery. Access to healthcare here is precarious – there is no phone signal and only the handful of homes equipped with solar panels have a regular internet connection. To find the nearest medical centre, you have to travel four hours downstream. Santarém, the closest city with hospitals, is eight hours away. 'People have already died because of the distance,' said Rosinilda dos Santos, 59, who lives in the village of São Francisco. She has spent her whole life on the banks of the Arapiuns, a winding river with dark waters lapping sandy beaches where locals live on subsistence agriculture, fishing and hunting. Like many in her community, the grandmother-of-12 began working on manioc plantations as a child and now suffers from related back and eye problems. With healthcare facilities so far away and costly to reach, São Francisco residents usually only seek medical assistance in the case of an emergency. Occasionally though, medical assistance comes to them. The Telegraph accompanied a team of doctors who travelled along the river in a pair of converted boats, crewed by volunteer doctors and packed to the gunwales with consultation rooms, dental clinics, and crucial supplies. Over four days, the bulky vessels called at seven different communities in the Lower Arapiuns region of Santarém, a municipality of 330,000 spanning an area nearly the size of Wales. In São Francisco, Ms dos Santos was keen to see a gynaecologist about the uterine polyp that has been bothering her for the past five years. A polyp is a benign growth but can cause bleeding and discomfort. Improvising with the equipment available on the Ailton Barros boat, a groaning two-storey metallic structure painted white with yellow and blue lines, a volunteer gynaecologist wearing a camping head torch swiftly performs the procedure to remove the polyp. 'It's a weight off my mind,' said Ms dos Santos as she stepped back onto dry land, where fellow villagers were queuing for triage, clutching plastic bags containing their medical records. With the boats' focus being primary healthcare, the team of doctors and nurses predominantly distribute vaccines, STI tests and medication for common complaints like musculoskeletal pain and gastrointestinal problems. But 'we always get emergencies,' said Maria Rita Brasil, a 29-year-old nurse and the manager of the Abaré II. She ran around cleaning wounds and administering intravenous saline solutions to patients in between filling out vaccination cards at an impromptu immunisation station under the shade of a tree, all while telling stories of her work in the region's most remote communities, some 32 hours away from the nearest city. 'On our last trip, we had a child who had been wounded by a rifle shot,' she said matter-of-factly. She was unfazed by the appearance of one patient with a severely infected tooth abscess, and another with a suspected ectopic pregnancy. As well as the unexpected, doctors aboard the boats have to contend with changes to the climate. The Brazilian Amazon has experienced two successive years of severe drought, which scientists have attributed to man-made climate change, while last year was one of the worst on record for forest fires. Local health professionals say that the changing climate is exacerbating health problems in the region, as well as leaving distant communities isolated for longer periods. 'In the last three years I've seen the appearance of a lot of skin problems and respiratory diseases that are caused by smoke and by high temperatures during the drought,' said Everson dos Santos, 46, a community health officer in the indigenous village of Tucumã-Açu. Community health officers provide guidance and prevention on the ground, as well as serving as a vital liaison between the local population and the authorities. The most frequent problems continue to be outbreaks of vomiting and diarrhoea, particularly during the transition from dry to rainy seasons. In the village of Anã, Leandro Godinho's whole family ended up in hospital with diarrhoea in December last year. The 35-year-old schoolteacher's eldest son was so ill he had to be evacuated to Santarém by seaplane. '[He had symptoms] for nearly a week. He was vomiting and had diarrhoea so was really dehydrated, he could barely stand,' recalled Mr Godinho, who feels like his own insides haven't completely recovered from the ordeal two months later. A GP on board the boats prescribed him some painkillers, while the paediatrician recommended blood tests for his two sons. They were advised to go to Santarém for that, a journey that costs 60 reais (£8) per person each way – a cost that weighs on Mr Godinho's 1,400 reais (£185) salary. Still, he was grateful for the appointments his family were able to get on their doorstep. The boats are an integral part of Santarém's public healthcare infrastructure – and a unique feature of Brazil's NHS-inspired public health system, the SUS. The SUS is centred on the principles of universal and equitable access to free healthcare for the entire population. 'Under this concept, healthcare comes to the river dwellers, it's not for river dwellers to go after the healthcare,' said Marcela Pinheiro, health technical advisor at Projeto Saúde & Alegria (PSA), an NGO that pioneered the model of floating healthcare centres in Brazil. The concept of riverboats that travel up and down waterways to deliver regular medical assistance to remote communities was included in Brazil's national policy for providing primary care to river-dwelling populations in 2013. There are now 96 such boats serving 83 municipalities across the Brazilian Amazon and Pantanal. 'Our work is about prevention, health promotion, and care,' said Tângara Sansil, the city of Santarém's coordinator for river healthcare. She oversees 32 permanent basic health centres scattered around riverside communities as well as the city's three floating healthcare centres, which are known as UBSF. Per national guidelines, these boats must visit their designated coverage area at least six times a year to provide vaccines and cervical screenings, routine check-ups, and urgent care if needed. But they can also team up with universities or NGOs to offer extra services. 'The floating healthcare centres provide GP services, so partnerships with NGOs allow us to bring specialist doctors,' said Ms Sansil. A non-profit called Abarcar supplied the staff for the expedition The Telegraph joined in February. Among them were gynaecologists, paediatricians, GPs, dentists, and medical students. They also brought donations of much-needed medicines. The state of Pará, where Santarém is located, there are only 1.18 doctors for every 1,000 people – well below the national average of 2.41, according to a 2023 study by the University of São Paulo. Providing specialist consultations to the riverside communities directly helps reduce the number of people on waitlists in the city. But the UBSF system has its limitations, even for communities within the boat's regular catchment area which does not include the Lower Arapiuns region. While locals up and down the river were thrilled at being able to access healthcare on their doorsteps, they also lamented that the doctors come so infrequently and leave so quickly. The Abaré II, for example, has only recently started up its regular visits again, after renovation works that lasted over two years. 'Out of [nearly] 100 boats, only 23 function regularly,' said Ms Pinheiro from PSA. The NGO is working with the Oswaldo Cruz foundation, a public research institution, on a two-year 'diagnosis' of Brazil's floating healthcare centres, to identify shortcomings and possible improvements. Preliminary findings will be presented at the COP30 UN climate conference hosted by Brazil later this year. 'The challenge is to make the policy more efficient … to ensure it doesn't just get lost over the years,' she said.
