17
June 2008 - Brazil — We've received good
news about the ongoing campaign to protect
the Amazon rainforest: the landmark two-year-old
"soya moratorium", brought about
after we demonstrated that the rainforest
was being cleared to make way for soya farming,
has been extended for another year.
The announcement from
soya traders in Brazil provides hope for
the Amazon rainforest. We're not out of
the woods yet, but this decision and the
history of campaigning that got us here
should be celebrated and built upon to protect
all ancient forests for the future.
The Amazon campaign
Rising international demand for soya had
led many farmers to drive deforestation
to make way for soya cultivation. Back in
2006, we published ‘Eating up the Amazon’,
a report on our investigation into the links
between soya in the supply chains of leading
international food companies and the destruction
of the Amazon rainforest. At the same time,
we dressed up as chickens and heckled McDonald's,
one of the companies using soya from the
Amazon for Chicken McNuggets back then.
The costumes were sweaty but, luckily for
us (and the planet), McDonald's quickly
reacted and agreed to join us and lead a
call for change.
Responding to this pressure,
the major soya traders operating in Brazil
announced a two-year moratorium, which came
into effect in July 2006, stopping for the
time being the trade in soya grown on newly
deforested land. Although recent figures
show an increase in Amazon deforestation
rates, after three years of decline, the
first field evaluations show that the soya
harvested this year in the Brazilian Amazon
has not come from newly deforested areas.
In other words, the moratorium is doing
its job and halting soya related forest
destruction, despite the pressure from rising
soya prices.
Companies doing the
right thing
Two years have not been long enough to establish
permanent solutions to halt deforestation
related to soya farming, and without an
extension much of the hard work done to
date would have been lost. Credit for the
extension goes primarily to two of our,
umm, favourite allies - big business and
government.
The Brazilian Association
of Vegetable Oil Industries (Abiove), which
represents soya traders, has recently been
under huge pressure from producers who wanted
to weaken the moratorium by allowing soya
plantations in areas not permitted under
the existing agreement. Despite the pressure,
in a press conference held in Brasilia,
Abiove has just confirmed that it will back
the moratorium for another year.
“Abiove’s decision shows
that it is possible for a leading agribusiness
company to ensure food production without
destroying forests", said Paulo Adario,
Greenpeace's Amazon campaign director.
A European alliance
of soya consumer companies, led by McDonald's,
Marks & Spencer and Carrefour, also
welcomed the extension and, in a joint statement,
renewed their commitment to remaining actively
engaged. In Brazil, the companies Wal-Mart,
Sadia and Yoki also supported this statement.
Brazilian Environment
Minister Carlos Minc told reporters: “The
moratorium is a successful initiative by
civil society and the soya industry. The
Federal Government is entering the process
now and is committed to register and license
all rural properties in the Amazon biome.
Inspired by the success of this initiative,
the Brazilian government is negotiating
similar approaches with the timber and beef
industries.”
“We are delighted to
see the new environment minister take an
active role in ensuring the continuation
of the moratorium. Such high-level support
helps Abiove and the traders convince farmers
to support the initiative. His support also
serves as a warning to those who continue
to destroy forests that their soya will
be rejected by the market,” concluded Adario.
Not only has Minc come
out in support of the extension, he has
committed the government to speeding up
efforts for the registration and mapping
of rural properties in the Amazon. This
is essential if we are to ensure compliance
by all parties to the laws dictating which
land may be used for farming and which is
off-limits for deforestation.
Much more still to be
done
This announcement means we’re one step closer
to achieving that. Further measures include
curbing illegal occupation of public lands,
harsh penalties for illegal deforestation,
driving development to areas away from the
rainforest and increasing support for sustainable
methods of production.
Rainforests and climate
change
Not only is the forest a natural wonder
but it is home to millions of indigenous
peoples. In addition, recent science has
proven that tropical forest destruction
is responsible for nearly one-fifth of global
greenhouse gas emissions, second only to
the energy sector. Stopping deforestation
of the Amazon would bring us much closer
to keeping global temperature rise at below
2°C, which most scientists believe is
necessary to avoid catastrophic climate
change.
