Brazil warns of increased deforestation levels in the Amazon

[Thinking Man's Idiot]

Brazil warns of increased deforestation levels in the Amazon

(Tuesday 30 September 2008)

BRAZILIAN officials warned on Monday that the Amazon is being chopped down over three times as fast as last year, acknowledging a sharp reversal after a three-year decline in the deforestation rate.


According to a report from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, Amazon destruction jumped from 300 square miles in August compared to 90 square miles in the same month of 2007.

The institute, which uses satellite imagery to track illegal logging, said that the destruction is probably even worse than its figures show because no information is available for approximately 26 per cent of the Amazon due to cloud cover.

Brazilian Environment Minister Carlos Minc suggested that forthcoming national elections are partly to blame, with mayors in the Amazon region turning a blind eye to illegal logging in order to gain votes.

But non-governmental environmentalists emphasised that soaring world food prices are encouraging soya farmers and cattle ranchers to clear land for crops and grazing.

Greenpeace Amazon campaign co-ordinator Paulo Adario said that, while vote hunting no doubt plays a part, "the tendency of deforestation rising is deeply related to the fact that food prices are going up."

Mr Minc released a list of the 100 individuals or companies responsible for most of the deforestation since 2005.

Leading the list was the Brazilian government's own land and agrarian reform agency, Incra.

Greenpeace accuses Incra officials of illegally handing over rainforest to logging companies and creating fake settlements to skirt environmental regulations.

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