In its first concerted move to curb destruction of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, the 15-month-old government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has announced a US$136 million effort to establish land-use controls, promote sustainable development and bolster forest monitoring and enforcement. The forest-protection initiatives come as new satellite data show Amazon deforestation at near-record levels. The Environment Ministry announced April 7 that from August 2002 to August 2003 an estimated 9,170 square miles (23,750 sq kms) of the Amazon rainforest were cleared—an area larger than Belize. If confirmed, that would be 2% greater than the previous 12-month period’s deforestation rate, which itself had caused deep concern when it was announced here because it was substantially higher than the... [Log in to read more]
