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| MODIS image of Matto Grosso |
Brazil has had a forest code since 1934 that determines how much rain forest a farmer or rancher can clear for agricultural purposes. The code was amended in 1965 to require 80% of Amazon rain forest land remain forested. Such a law is uniquely progressive for a developing nation, but the lower house of the legislature has passed amendments allowing small farmers to clear more land from hilltops and riverbanks. The legislation is sponsored by the head of the Brazilian Communist Party. Despite the economic equity motivating the proposals, Brazilian environmentalists have labeled the amendments "retrograde". Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff, the first female president of Brazil, has promised to veto the legislation if it passes the Senate and still contains an amnesty provision for illegal land clearing prior 2008. Land clearances have reached alarming new highs with five times the amount of deforestation taking place during March and April of this year compared to the same time period last year. The biggest rise was in the Mato Grosso region
[satellite image: NASA] where forest is being replaced with soya plantations, a transformation driven by spiraling commodity prices. At the moment a hectare of soya can yield $630 in profit. A staggering 405.6 sq. km of forest was destroyed in April alone. Less than a year ago Brazil was proudly announcing the lowest rate of deforestation on record. Agriculturalists appear to be rushing to cut down forest, expecting the changes in the law to protect them for their environmental crimes. Recently two prominent rain forest defenders
Ribeiro da Silva and
Maria do Espirito Santo were
killed in an ambush near their home. Da Silva had predicted his demise at the hands of loggers six months before his murder.
