28 July 2009
- Brasilia, Brazil — More good news about
the ongoing campaign to protect the Amazon
rainforest: the landmark three-year-old
soya moratorium has been extended for another
year.
While we are far from
being out of the woods, last week’s announcement
from Nike and today’s extension of the moratorium
on soya linked to Amazon destruction will
help to protect the Amazon and help in the
fight against climate change for another
year.
Brazilian soya traders
step up
A few years ago, rising international demand
for soya had led farmers to drive Amazon
deforestation to make room for soya cultivation.
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. Responding to
the pressure that followed, the major soya
traders operating in Brazil announced a
two-year moratorium, which came into effect
in July 2006, dramatically decreasing the
trade in soya grown on newly deforested
land in the Amazon. Three 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.
The announcement of
the soya moratorium extension was attended
by the Brazilian environment minister Carlos
Minc and the Soya Working Group. The European
companies that supported its establishment
in 2006, so that they could guarantee soya
linked to Amazon destruction did not end
up in their products, also praised the extension.
Next on the chopping
block
The soya moratorium is a great help in the
fight to protect the Amazon but we weren’t
ready to rest easy just yet. Just two months
ago, our most recent exposé showed
how the Brazilian cattle industry is contributing
to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
Shortly after the release of 'Slaughtering
the Amazon', it seemed like everyone wanted
out of the dirty business as major global
companies and the World Bank began to sever
their links with the slaughterhouses and
farms involved. Read more about the how
goverment and business' reacted in the weeks
following "Slaughtering the Amazon."
Rainforests and climate
change
Tropical deforestation accounts for up to
a fifth of greenhouse gas emissions, more
than all the world’s airplanes, trains and
cars. It has led Brazil to become the world’s
fourth worst climate polluter and means
that runaway climate change cannot be averted
unless deforestation is stopped.
The UN Climate Summit
in Copenhagen is rapidly approaching; it’s
time for Heads of State to commit to taking
personal responsibility for showing up to
the meeting and ensure an effective deal
to avert the climate crisis. As part of
the deal, President Lula must commit to
stopping Amazon deforestation by 2015 and
developed countries must provide the financial
backing his government needs to effectively
monitor and govern the rainforest. In addition,
funds are required for the millions of people
who depend on the forest to develop new
conservation minded industries that do not
involve cutting the rainforest down.
