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- Environmental governance is a concept in environmental policy that steers markets, technology and society towards achieving the goal of sustainability. It considers social, economic and environmental aspects in the decision making of its policies. Brazil is currently developing at an incredibly fast rate, only out-performed by countries such as China and India, both in terms of economic growth and recovery rate after the global financial crisis in the late 2000s. The saying that “Brazil is the country of the future...and it always will be” has haunted Brazil for decades. But recent economic policy changes, made since the founding of the New Republic, have allowed Brazil to start gaining international confidence. This was epitomised when American President Barack Obama stated that “The people of Brazil should know that the future has arrived” during a visit to Rio de Janeiro in March 2011. Brazil is also no longer referred to as a developing country, but as an emerging country, a newly industrialised country (NIC) and as a member of the BRIC economies. But with this fast economic growth rate comes huge responsibility in terms of sustainability. Brazil's economic growth is supported by the huge demand of natural resources from China, resources that Brazil has in abundance. Brazil is currently successfully matching the needs of China's manufacturing industry and with huge investments currently being made to sustain this demand from China, Brazil is building new ports and airports and increasing the capacity of its current ones. However, this vast extraction of natural resources is coming at a price for the natural environment. Former Environment Minister Marina Silva resigned in 2008 as she felt the Brazilian government was prioritizing the interests of big businesses and the economy, and felt she was fighting a losing battle to protect many of Brazil's natural environments, including the Amazon Rainforest. Despite these claims, Brazil has been praised for its environmental sustainability efforts and attempts to reduce its carbon emissions. The Brazilian government created the Ministry of the Environment (MMA) in 1985 and following this, organisations have been created, such as IBAMA in 1989, with the aim to protect the natural environment. Brazil has also taken a front seat with regards to global environmental governance by jointly creating and presiding the Megadiverse Like-Minded Countries Group, which includes 70% of the world's living biodiversity and 45% of the world's population. (en)
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