25 January
2008 - Brazil — After three years of declining
Amazon deforestation, rates of loss have
now doubled to new record levels. Increased
demand for products like soya and beef is
driving the destruction.
New figures released
by the Brazilian authorities, show deforestation
rates of 3235km2 from August-December 2007.
However, as the tracking system used only
shows preliminary deforestation rates, the
real figure is likely to be much higher.
When more detailed satellite images are
analysed they are expected to reveal that
some 7,000 km2 of rainforest has been destroyed
in just 5 months.
For the last three years
the Brazilian Government has been claiming
credit for decreasing rates of Amazon deforestation.
However the falling price of soya and beef
meant less pressure to clear land for cattle
ranching and soya plantations. Once demand
for these products rose again, many experts,
including our own Amazon team, warned that
without decisive action from the Brazilian
government increased deforestation was inevitable.
Our Amazon Coordinator,
Paulo Adario, saw warnings go largely unheeded:
"The Brazilian government can not claim
to be caught by surprise. Greenpeace warned
throughout last year that increases in the
price of soya and beef meant that unless
urgent counter measures were taken deforestation
would rise."
"If President Lula
is serious about Brazil being a world leader
in the fight against deforestation then
he must implement long-term solid measures
to ensure the Amazon cannot fall victim
to deforestation as a result of rising commodity
prices."
Unfortunately it appears
the Brazilian Government missed the chance
to effectively deal with the root causes
of deforestation over the last three years.
It has just release a response to the figures,
announcing a mixture of new and repackaged
old protection measures. To date the Governments
track record of enforcing protection measures
in the Amazon has been woeful.
Eating up the Amazon
In 2006 we exposed the
role of soya in the destruction of the Amazon,
along with the local community of Santarém,
Brazil. in July 2006, this lead to the soy
industry announcing a landmark moratorium
on forest clearing. It is vital that the
moratorium is now extended, as it is key
to protecting the Amazon.
Much of the soya is
exported to feed cattle and chickens for
meat production.
Amazon - vital for biodiversity
and the climate
Deforestation is a major
contributor to climate change, causing about
20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Brazil is the world's 4th largest contributor
to global warming, mainly due to deforestation
and land clearing in the Amazon.
Behind that alarming
fact lie further drivers of Amazon destruction.
The US has launched huge, misguided subsidies
for biofuels from maize. This has lead US
farmers to swap soya crops for maize hence
helping drive up the global price of soya.
So a false climate solution in one part
of the world could be harming the global
climate by helping encourage new Amazon
deforestation.
The Amazon needs the
Brazilian Government to take decisive action
on the ground to halt deforestation. Globally
tropical forests are being felled for timber,
and provide land for food and most recently
to make way for biofuels.
That's why we aim to
ensure that deforestation is included in
the next phase of the Kyoto climate agreement
extending beyond 2012. The decisions that
governments make in the near future are
critical for securing the financing and
capacity needed by countries to safeguard
their tropical forests and to allow them
to make a serious contribution to global
efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
