Illegal deforestation
for soy production, in the North of State
of Mato Grosso.
24/05/2005 — Amazon destruction has accelerated
to record levels, according to figures released
by the Brazilian government. The annual rate
has reached 26,130 square km, the second highest
ever - an area equivalent to about six football
fields a minute are destroyed. Almost half
of the deforestation occurred in the State
of Mato Grosso, governed by the largest individual
soy producer in the world, Blairo Maggi.
More than 70 percent of Amazon loss occurred
between May and July 2004, when President
Lula's Action Plan to Curb Deforestation had
already been adopted. The Plan, which was
presented in March 2004, took seven months
of elaboration and had the participation of
13 Ministries committing resources, defining
responsibilities and setting a timetable.
During the same period, Lula's Government
has celebrated the rapid expansion in grain
production and world leadership in meat exports,
with the Minister of Treasury Antonio Palocci
declaring, "Agribusiness is the best
business of Brazil."
A national shame
Paulo Adario, our Amazon campaign coordinator,
said, "Clearly Lula's administration
has failed up to now to implement the Action
Plan and to protect the Amazon. Although there
have been positive measures taken by the Government,
such as the creation of protected areas and
demarcation of Indigenous lands, the fact
that the annual average of deforestation has
been more than 23,000 km2 for the last three
years is simply unacceptable. This is a national
shame."
The rape of the rainforest
Of the 12,576 square kilometres lost in the
State of Mato Grosso, 4,176 km2 were authorised
by the government. The rest was illegal. Maggi
doesn't hide his opinion about deforestation:
"A 40 percent increase in deforestation
doesn't mean anything at all, and I don't
feel the slightest guilt over what we are
doing here," Maggi said in an interview
to The New York Times in September 2003, referring
to the Amazon deforestation rate of the previous
year. Last week the UK newspaper The Independent
exposed Maggi as being "the man behind
... the rape of the rainforest." But
Maggi has reacted angrily, "I can personally
say that my company (Grupo Amaggi) has carried
out no deforestation over the past few years.
I think they (the newspapers) were heavy handed
and they exaggerated," he said. However,
Maggi is the largest soy producer in the world.
The soya boom is responsible for much of the
deforestation. "It is turning the rainforest
into cattle feed. It is gross," said
John Sauven, head of the rainforest campaign
for Greenpeace UK."It is turning the
rainforest into cattle feed. It is gross,"
said John Sauven, head of the rainforest campaign
for Greenpeace UK."It is turning the
rainforest into cattle feed. It is gross,"
said John Sauven, head of the rainforest campaign
for Greenpeace UK.
Key culprits and solutions
"Agribusiness and illegal logging are
key culprits of deforestation," says
Adario. "Lula's administration is facing
a fundamental contradiction: to fight Amazon
deforestation or to promote the expansion
of agribusiness to pay the Brazilian external
debt. To make a real difference on the ground,
the Government needs to restrict soy plantations
only in areas already deforested, combat illegal
logging, continue to create protected areas
and effectively implement their own anti-deforestation
Plan."
By allowing this level of Amazon destruction,
the Government is also contributing to the
devastating impacts of global warming. Carbon
dioxide emissions from deforestation and burning
in the Amazon are the main Brazilian contributions
to climate change and there is growing evidence
that climate change is drying out the forests,
creating a vicious cycle.
