The Brazilian Congress, influenced by the agribusiness sector, seeks to change the Forest Code in Brazil to open more of the Amazon rainforest to be cleared. Not only will this destroy forested areas in the Amazon no longer protected by the Forest Code, but the clearing and burning of these lands will release millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere—making the impacts of climate change much worse.
The proposals to weaken the Forest Code include:
A 30% increase in the percentage of land a farmer is allowed to clearcut (from 20% to 50%)
Allowances for farmers to replant exotic tree species such as palm trees and eucalyptus in Legal Reserves that are intended to be native rainforest
The region has already lost almost 18% of the forest cover—an area larger than France—in the last 40 years. In theory, the change being discussed by the Brazilian Congress would immediately apply to 36% of the Amazon in the hands of the private sector.
clipped from: www.greenpeace.org 