Flash Points
Themed journeys through our archive.

Who Shapes Environmental Policy Worldwide?

In the Amazon and elsewhere, nature’s last best hope is a hodgepodge of forces.

A deforested area of the Amazonia rainforest is pictured in Labrea, Amazonas state, Brazil, on Sept. 15, 2021.
A deforested area of the Amazonia rainforest is pictured in Labrea, Amazonas state, Brazil, on Sept. 15, 2021.
A deforested area of the Amazonia rainforest is pictured in Labrea, Amazonas state, Brazil, on Sept. 15, 2021. MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images

Recently, FP’s Robbie Gramer reported from the Brazilian Amazon, where rampant deforestation threatens to transform the rainforest into a savanna—and thus jeopardize global efforts to rein in climate change. “As the Amazon edges closer toward that brink,” Gramer wrote, “a hodgepodge of scientists, Indigenous communities, underfunded environmental protection officials, and foreign governments have scrambled to find ways to protect what they can and stave off that tipping point for as long as possible.”

Recently, FP’s Robbie Gramer reported from the Brazilian Amazon, where rampant deforestation threatens to transform the rainforest into a savanna—and thus jeopardize global efforts to rein in climate change. “As the Amazon edges closer toward that brink,” Gramer wrote, “a hodgepodge of scientists, Indigenous communities, underfunded environmental protection officials, and foreign governments have scrambled to find ways to protect what they can and stave off that tipping point for as long as possible.”

This edition of Flash Points explores the forces that shape environmental policy in the Amazon and beyond—from local communities and scientists to foreign governments and global nonprofits—and the barriers to environmental preservation and conservation worldwide.


Camp 41, a remote scientific research station in the Amazon rainforest, is viewed from above in Brazil on Oct. 18.
Camp 41, a remote scientific research station in the Amazon rainforest, is viewed from above in Brazil on Oct. 18.

Camp 41, a remote scientific research station in the Amazon rainforest, is viewed from above in Brazil on Oct. 18. Michael Dantas / United Nations Foundation photos

Who Owns the Earth’s Lungs?

The battle to save the Amazon goes beyond Brazil, FP’s Robbie Gramer writes.


The sun filters through a redwood tree in California.
The sun filters through a redwood tree in California.

The sun filters through a redwood tree in California. Sepp Friedhuber/Istock photo

Nature Is Becoming a Person

How to make sense of the new global trend that grants legal rights to animals, plants, and rivers, according to Justin E. H. Smith.


Signs opposing fracking
Signs opposing fracking

Signs opposing fracking are posted in the front of the yard of an Evans City, Pennsylvania, home on Feb. 23, 2012. Keith Srakocic/AP

Why Scientists Should Shape Environmental Policy

If experts and industry leaders cooperate, innovation may be possible, James Saiers writes.


A student holds a plant during a national campaign for the reforestation of El Salvador at Walter Thilo Deininger National Park near San Salvador, El Salvador, on June 5, 2017.
A student holds a plant during a national campaign for the reforestation of El Salvador at Walter Thilo Deininger National Park near San Salvador, El Salvador, on June 5, 2017.

A student holds a plant during a national campaign for the reforestation of El Salvador at Walter Thilo Deininger National Park near San Salvador, El Salvador, on June 5, 2017.Oscar Rivera/AFP/Getty Images

Sustainable Investment Is Flooding the Market

And Latin America is poised for a windfall, Lisa Viscidi writes.


A ranger fires his assault rifle in Congo.
A ranger fires his assault rifle in Congo.

A ranger fires his assault rifle at a target during pre-deployment shooting practice in the Garamba National Park in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo on Feb. 6, 2016.AFP/Tony Karumba

Western Nonprofits Are Trampling Over Africans’ Rights and Land

Indigenous people are being forced out from so-called protected areas, Aby L. Sène writes.

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.