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

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.