♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: architect. bee keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news".

>> hello, everyone. i maryam moshiri. you are watching "the context" on bbc news. >> if you don't stop deforestation, you can forget tackling climate change. it is that important. >> this is the first great meeting to show the world what we want to do. >> you have no idea how much pressure there was in our community. circling planes, soy farmers wanting to buy the land to de forest it. maryam: a landmark summit is underway in brazil to try to better protect the amazon rainforest from deforestation and crime. the first meeting of its kind in

40 years. also on the program, after the first group of asylum seekers spend their first night of other controversial stockholm barge last night, is the public on board with rishi sunak's tough migrant policy? vegan products have been filling supermarket shelves in recent years, but new data shows the cost-of-livi crisis is turning people to more affordable meat products. a very warm welcome to the program. we start with the crucial summit on the security of the amazon rain forest. the leaders of eight south american countries that share the amazon are gathering for the first time in 14 years there has been a meeting like this. scientists are concerned that deforestation in the amazon may be approaching an irreversible tipping point. brazil's president lula da silva is hoping for a coordinated regional aroach to tackle illegal mining and logging as

well as environmental crimes. scientists say the amazon rain forest is a crucial buffer against climate change, and 60% of it is located in brazil. it acts as a major carbon sink. that means it absorbs carbon dioxide emissions. president has already promised you end -- president lula has promised to end deforestation by 2030. it surged under his predecessor jerry bolsonaro. in july of this year, 500s were commoners in rain forest was cleared in brazil -- 500 square feet of rain forest was cleared in brazil, less than the last year. the region is home to militancy people including indigenous groups who depend on its unique ecosystem. it is taking place on brazil's most deforested state. katy watson sent this report.

katy: virgin forest still exists in the amazon, but every day the illegal loggers get closer. from up high you can see the damage done -- the large patches of land totally cleared. this part of brazil has the highest rate of deforestation in the country. under jerry bolsonaro --under gyre bolsonaro, illegal logging sort. president lula da silva says the summit could be a game changer. pres. lula: the world needs to look at this meeting in berlin as a milestone. this meeting is the first great opportunity for people to show the world what we want to do. we returned to govern brazil to make a difference. katy: for those living under the rain forest canopy, it's been a difficult few years. >> you have no idea how much pressure there was in our community under the bolsonaro government.

landowners circling planes, soy farmers wanting to buy the land to de forest it. katy: he is standing firm. instead, he is growing sustainable crops. he is part of a booming industry making the most out of what is called carbon credit. it is a market that lets companies all over the world offset their own carbon emissions by paying for projects like this. but not everyone is convinced. bianca and her family, like many in the region, want better services like schools and health services, but are suspicious of carbon credit companies offering to help them. >> is not that transparent. we cannot see how we would get a secure life. we are always on the back foot, fearing the consequences. we decided not to sign the contract. katy: how to ensure the amazon's future and improve the lives of the more than 30 million people

who live here is the biggest challenge facing leaders at this week's summit in berlin. just to get to this part of the amazon took 13 hours overnight on the riverboat and now a smaller boat to get to the community. if you look around, it all looks so close together, and it just goes to show how fast t-- vast the amazon is, but how difficult it is to navigate and ultimately how difficult it will be for lulu to achieve zero deforestation by 2030. which is why he needs the backing of all countries who share the amazon. leaders are expected to share solutions to illegal logging and mining, moving away from infrastructure projects, and trying to provide basic services to those in need. money talks, but without offering a better life for those who live in the forest, any discussion of conservation is pointless. katy watson, bbc news, berlin. maryam: let's talk more about this and bring in an ecologist

at the university of brasília, and someone from amazon underworld, which investigates criminal networks in the rain forest. thanks for joining us on "the context." how important is it that this is summit is taking place in the first place? >> it's quite important, because as mentioned, it's the first time since 2009 that we have had a meeting of the leaders of the region. this multilateral coordination now is crucial to find solutions for the huge challenges that we have in preserving the amazon region, but also providing the people there with a better life. maryam: one of the main -- what are the main challenges you foresee? >> the main challenges, what we saw in the amazon region is an increase in illegal activities, especially illegal logging, mining, but also the increase of

narco traffic in the region. this illegal activities are making it much more difficult than it was in the past. maryam: i can see you nodding to what mercedes is saying. you obviously have looked into criminal activity in the rain fourth region. why do you believe security should be high on the agenda during the summit? >> what we see in the current situation is that state governance has no control over the most remote parts of the amazon, where we definitely observe crimin movements, wher crimee organizations basically determine who can enter, who will live, who will die, who will be taxed for revenues. and factions from colombia, despite linguistic and cultural barriers, are able to conduct is

this together -- business together to cooperate. why are governments so far unable to com up with a coherent plan to protect the rain forest? maryam: why is that? why is it that successive governments haven't been able to come up with a plan? bram: we think that the summit of this week is a great step forward because they're talking and they need to come up with a coherent response that can be backed by the internatiol community. we think it is very important to cooperate on -- but also to regain the trust of the populations living in the amazon, who oftentimes have been alienated by repressive state. but states must invest in public health and education to realize the future of amazon. maryam: mercedes, i see you

nodding there, and even katy watson in her piece is that it would be difficult to progress with anything without getting the wider of the indigenous people, those people who use the area and live there. mercedes: we have in the amazon region not just a huge biological diversity, or cultural and social diversity. the participation of amazonian people, designing and planning and implementation of all the national plans for deforestation, is essential. without the participation of the people in the region, we will not succeed. we need to take into account what are the different, the cultural difference, the different points of you in the region, and trying to really find solution for the whole region. maryam: mercedes, how much damage has been done by the use of the bolsonaro government, and is that irreversible? mercedes: in parts of the amazon region, whawe are seeing out, the amazon is in excess for

carbon. because of deforestation, climate change, we have a reverse source of carbon into the atmosphere. amazon region in some parts of the forest are very close to the tipping point. this is an alert not just for the region, but a global alert. we need to protect the forests, and this demands local action but also global actions to stop climate change. maryam: interesting you should say global action, because bram, you have written that the countries have a big part to play and bringing them together in this summit should push that forward. bram: i think so. but the world -- what the world wants to see is a collective voice in the amazon. this week's summit could be the right platform for that. the amazon countries cannot fix this issue by themselves. for starters, they need

international financing. the president of columbia -- president of colombia spoke of get swaps today.-- debt swaps today. the profits of the economies are way higher than the state budgets to combat that. there needs to be an international fund to help the country. it is also important to bear in mind that commodities from the deforested amazon areas are in high demand in other continents. especially the united states and europe can be proactive action to help clean up the supply chain and work on traceability of the amazon amenities. maryam: mercedes, i see. do you believe there is a responsibility, a role to be played by countries that are using what is taken from the amazon, what companies are selling, commodities, as bram puts them? mercedes: it is important to think that there is no single nor simple solution for the

case, but time matters. it is important also to realize the connections between deforestation and global supply chain. in this case we really need to, as mentioned before, how we can improve traceability and make the supply chains more transparent so that people can really decide on what they buy or not, depending on the environmental impact in the region. maryam: bram? bram: i completely agree, and i think that our regional initiatives, it will be discussed actually today -- for example, we heard some of the presidents speaking of amazonian nato, a comment that insinuates they are one regional cooperation, but they can use technical assistance and use governments to look at themselves and their own role in deforestation.

what we have seen very often is by the lack of political will, governments go after low hanging fruit, which oftentimes are people living in the amazon, native to the amazon. but this forces of cheap labor can be easily replaced. what is necessary now is that law enforcement goes after the financiers of deforestation, living in the capitals of amazon countries were even reside abroad. so far they've remained untouched. maryam: interesting food for thought there fthere. bram and mercedes, been such a pleasure to have you on the program. thank you for your time. mercedes: thank you. bram: thanks for having us. maryam: let's stick with the subject of climate and turned to portugal, one of the country

that experienced extreme heat and forest fires in july. august has seen no let up. the fires are raging in the central and south of the country, and monday sohe hottest temperature of the year, 46.4 degrees celsius north of the capital, lisbon. there is growing concern for locals and tourists in the area. here around the world and in the u.k., you are watching bbc news. let's take you through some other stories making headlines. the u.k. electoral commission has been the subject of a cyberattack. an independent watchdog says hostile actors have been able to access electoral registers and has warned the public to be vigilant on unauthorized use of their personal data. five people including a 40-year-old british national have died in violent protests related to the taxi strike in cape town, after a weeklong strike was called by the taxi council.

the strike was in response to what the drivers called heavy-handed tactics by law enforcement authorities. now, it is results day for scotland. the pass rate for exams in scotland has fallen but remains higher than before the pandemic. more than 144,000 young people across scotland have been receiving their grades. the portion of peoples awarded a, b, or c at higher has fallen 77% -- fallen to 77%. you are watching bbc news. i am maryam moshiri. this is "the context." a charity representing asylum-seekers due to be moved onto a barge in dorset is claiming that four more transfers have been canceled. they claim it is due to the threat of legal action. the company denied any cancellations have taken place. it comes after 15 men spent their first night on the barge.

more are expected to board later in the week. let's talk to the co-founder of the delta pulp. always good to have you on the program. when we talk to you can we get a good idea, don't wait, about what people are thinking about government policy. this is been -- this has been hugely controversial move by the government, but it has felt the move, hasn't it, to stop the boats crossing the channel from france. tell me what people are telling you about what they think about what the government is doing. >> well, it is next the nearly complicated subject with many different -- it is an extraordinary complicated subject with many different facets. when you ask their british public how well the government is doing when it comes to dealing with the issue of small boats, nearly half the people think they are doing badly. only around one third of people think they are doing well. but when it comes to specific

policies such as the barge in dorset over the issue of flights to rwanda, you see where the issues are announced that around about half the people support them and around about 130 people oppose, with the rest of saying they don't know. that is linked to the fact that overall, when you look at immigration and asylum as an issue, you find that more than half the people in this country consistently believe that the number of people who come here as immigrants should be reduced. that is a long-standing theme, and although the figures have fallen since brexit, it remains a strong theme in british public opinion. but even then it is more complicated. if you are talking about people seeking asylum as a result of the war in ukraine, particularly women and children, there is far greater support for that. similarly for highly skilled immigrants, labor shortages,

support is there. but at the same time, some groups of asylum-seekers are seen as not as popular. they tend to have far less support for them coming here. a very mixed picture. maryam: how much support is there for government policies like sending illegal immigrants to rwanda or putting asylum-seekerss on a barge while their application is being processed? >> if you ask people just when those cancer policies were announced, around about half the people say they support them and around about one third oppose. that is pretty consistent. doesn't matter what the issue is, pretty much, because the average person on the street isn't paying too much attention to the detail. as time goes on those policies get open to more scrutiny. we see a narrowing and indeed a change of the position.

but ultimately it is worth remembering that this remains a relatively small issue compared to particularly the economy. you ask the british people what the most important issues facing them and their family, only 10% of people place immigration and asylum in their top three. that is a long way behind the 67% who placed the cost of living in their top three. it is beyond the nhs and the economy in general. even when you ask the most important issue facing the country as a whole, it rises to just under a quarter of people saying immigration and asylum. but again, still well short of the two thirds use a cost-of-living. it is true that among conservatives, conservative voters in 2019, that figure does rise to over one third, 37%, but that is not enough to get it above fourth place on. priorities. for a small group, it is important and in some cases very important. those people are more likely to be conservatives.

but compared to the economy, is not in the same league. maryam: as always, great to talk to you. the former president donald trump is holding a rally in wyndham, new hampshire, today, his first campaign rally since facing at their criminal indictment last week when he was charged with four counts for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. the former president continues to lead in the polls among republicans, maintaining a healthy lead over governor ron desantis, who has his own problems. during the rally mr. trump defended himself and took the opportunity to criticize president biden's relationship wi china. mr. trump: it is a national tragedy that joe biden, crooked joe, he is more interested in where the money is coming from to him. how about all these things with the 30 corporations and the this and that, the money flowing in, everybody getting money coming in from china? maryam: let's speak to a

lecturer in politics and public affairs at princeton university. you have been listening to a little bit of what former president trump has been saying. the formula pretty much stays the same, doesn't it. >> it really does, and this is a tried-and-true rally speech for him. the structure is very typical for a trump sech. itsort of's -- it is sort of rambling and conversational. it is very entertaining with the jabs at chris christie -- he said "don't bother him, he's busy eating, i won't call him a fat pig, we are not allowed to." and then he goes in on ron -- he calls him desanctimonious, that seems to be sticking around for . attacking his opponent, and then he gets into january 6 and "i really won georgia" and "it was

a perfect phone call with the secretary of state." has expanded the full menu of the trumpet strategy. maryam: it feels like, despite the indictments and events, nothing has changed in that strategy. lauren: i think that is an accurate characterization that nothing is changed. national polls of the contenders in 2024 have been remarkably stable since april now across all of these different indictments. trump has been in the 50's, and he knows that. that is probably why he is skipping the debate later this month. that is a pretty smart strategies since he is so far ahead, part of the speech is bragging about the polls and how far are fed -- far ahead he has. he is taking a victory lap already and attacking biden as if he is already in a general election environment. maryam: let's talk about public perception, because what donald

trump is one thing -- what donald trump is saying is one thing. what people are hearing is another. has that changed because of recent events? lauren: we are still too early from the election. moderates, people who incidentally pay attention to politics, to really be watching these sorts of events closely. but the hard core supporters and primary voters are, many times. each candidate is sort of perfecting their message at this point, and frankly, ron desantis is very far behind. he has a lot of ground to make up. unless the structural factors change tremendously not in trump's favor, he is so far sailing through this primary with all the falsehoods he is spouting and all of the theories about himself. maryam: let's take a look at ron

desantis, because int interestingly, he sacked his campaign manager, so he really is struggling. lauren: yes, and that is smart to shake things up when they are not going well. but some of this ron desantis doesn't have too much control over. even when he was the darling of the republican party and he won reelection in a landslide in november, he was still a good 10 points behind trump. even if he stayed on the straight and narrow there, he would be struggling. but it is very hard to close the gap that he has created. some of that is just because, look, trump, as i wrote about in my most recent boo is a celebrity. he is the former president, he has this show business skill set, and with a huge stage, again, of 10 candidates, 11 candidates, it is very difficult

for them to distinguish themselves from one another when trump is on the stage. it's very much a replay of 2016, and it is hard for donors and activists to watch it unfold since trump has a pretty bank shot international election according to current numbers. maryam: always good to talk to. thank you very much for the before we go, let's show you some lovely pictures. a black bear blamed for a string of break-ins in california has been captured after a year on the run. the animal is believed to force her way into 20 homes in the lake tahoe area to steal food. the bear, nicknamed hank the tank, will be moved to a new home in a sanctuary in colorado. i wonder if they will put him on a diet. back in a few minutes. five i. -- narrator: funding for this presentation of this program

is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: architect. bee keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news".