Subject: [permaculture] BBC News - Amazon deforestation 'at record low'
Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2012 09:53:52 -0500
[China now imports most of the soybean that it uses from Brazil and the
USA, needless to say probably gmo and grown with roundup herbicide and
chemical fertilizer. LL]
Regrettably we have noticed that in states that didn't used to have an
aggressive level of deforestation there has been a rise”
Environment minister Izabella Teixeira
The latest data from the National Institute of Space Research relates to a
period before a change in the code which environmentalists say eases the
protection designed to prevent deforestation - a claim the government
disputes.
Ms Teixeira says the latest figures leave the government closer to its
target of reducing deforestation to 3,925 sq km by 2020.
Despite the reduction, in some Brazilian states there was a rise in
deforestation.
In Acre there was a rise of 10%; in Amazonas 29% and in Tocantins 33%.
"Regrettably we have noticed that in states that didn't have an aggressive
level of deforestation there has been a rise," Ms Teixeira said.
However, she welcomed a reduction in deforestation in two states which have
in the past seen much forest destroyed.
In Mato Grosso the reduction was 31% and in Para 44%.
Destruction of the world's forests releases large quantities of CO2, which
form part of the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.
Large-scale deforestation has helped make Brazil one of the world's top
greenhouse gas emitters.
Key causes of Amazon deforestation are illegal trafficking in timber and
minerals, fires and the spread of agriculture and stockbreeding.
More on This Story
Related Stories