[Anonymous]

Brazil denies Amazon logging link
Brazil’s
government has promised to investigate allegations that its policy of
settling landless communities in the Amazon is encouraging
deforestation.
Greenpeace
has claimed that some of these areas are being exploited by logging
companies, after what it says was an eight-month investigation.Brazil’s
environment ministry says deforestation in those areas is falling but
it will investigate the claims.The government says land distribution to
the poor is an important objective.But Greenpeace says the
implementation of the policy is encouraging uncontrolled logging and
deforestation in some parts of the Amazon.

‘Gross exploitation’
Greenpeace
claims the government’s land reform agency, Incra, is setting aside
areas for land settlement that are of great value to the timber
industry, instead of placing people on land that has already been
cleared.Greenpeace says links are then encouraged between the logging
companies and unregulated groups representing the settlers, which only
facilitates what it calls “gross exploitation” of the newly formed
settlement.The investigation focused on an area in the state of Para,
where more than 30,000 families were said to have been settled in 2006
alone.The allegation comes at a time when the government is celebrating
news that deforestation in the Amazon in the 12 months to July 2006
fell by 25%.Environment Minister Marina da Silva has promised the
claims will be fully investigated, but the government says satellite
images show deforestation in settlement areas has been falling, not
rising.

[Author]

August 23, 2007 at 12:11 PM