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Amazon Forest - Destruction and Hope |
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By Mario Osava*
Annual tropical wood harvests have decreased by two million cubic meters, but illegal logging extends into the heart of the Amazon, according to a new report to which Tierramérica had access.
RIO DE JANEIRO - We are facing ''the last great
opportunity'' to change the path of recent history in the Brazilian
Amazon, and the next two years will be decisive for halting deforestation,
the chaos of land titles and rural violence, says expert Adalberto
Veríssimo.
His assessment comes from his 15 years of experience researching
Amazon-related issues and from the latest report by the non-governmental
group he coordinates, the Institute of People and the Environment
in the Amazon (IMAZON).
The report is an update of ''Forest Facts in the Brazilian Amazon'',
published in 2003, and will be released at the end of March, but
Veríssimo shared some of its conclusions with Tierramérica.
It reiterates some of the bad news from earlier reports, like the
annual destruction of the Amazon reaching areas as large as Belgium
or Haiti, and reveals some new facts, like the advance of wood harvesting
that has extended to the heart of the Amazon.
Areas where forest exploitation was incipient just a few years ago,
such as the southeastern portion of Amazonas state and the western
part of Pará, are now major focal points of logging activity,
said Veríssimo.
The loggers are pushing back the ''arc of deforestation'', and the
cleared areas are filled in by ranches and farms, said the expert.
But there are also some encouraging data in the IMAZON text: the
production of lumber from the Amazon fell 26 million cubic meters
in 2004, two million less than the previous year, which represents
some 700,000 trees that were not cut down.
That decline is due to improved industrialization, which adds greater
value to the wood in meeting the demands of the foreign market.
Furthermore, as the logging frontier grows more distant, there is
more careful selection of trees to fell, and better use of raw material,
because transportation costs are higher, according to the study.
Another piece of good news is that sustainable management of Amazon
forests is increasing at a rapid pace.
The areas certified for sustainable management totaled 80,000 hectares
in 1997, growing to 400,000 hectares in 2002 and to 1.8 million
hectares in 2004 -- the largest area in the world's tropical forests.
In 2010 it could reach 10 million certified hectares if the problem
of land titles in the Amazon region is resolved, predicted Veríssimo,
based on the interest the private sector has expressed in sustainable
management.
Also boosting hopes is a package of measures announced by the government
to deal with the unrest triggered by the Feb. 12 assassination of
Dorothy Stang, a U.S.-born Catholic missionary and naturalized Brazilian
who had spent half of her 73 years defending the poor people of
rural Pará and sustainable development in the Eastern Amazon.
The creation of five new conservation areas covering a total of
5.2 million hectares; a ban on harmful activities on 8.2 million
hectares west of the BR-163 highway that crosses western Pará; and
the legislative bill on Public Forest Management are crucial for
''changing the path'' of the Amazon's fate and fighting deforestation,
Veríssimo said.
But these policies must be implemented ''with strength and persistence,''
he added.
There is also a previous measure that is also essential: creating
a registry of Amazon lands in order to regulate a situation that
has fallen into chaos.
Most of the land in the region is public, but lacks official registry,
and much of it has been taken over by ''grileiros'' (usurpers),
which has fueled conflict and violence -- to which Stang fell victim.
But not everyone shares the optimism -- cautious as it is -- of
Veríssimo.
''They are good measures, but too little too late,'' according to
Roberto Smeraldi, coordinator of the non-governmental organization
Friends of the Earth-Brazilian Amazon. He says the government may
be too weak to implement the policies effectively.
An estimated 45 percent of the logging in the Amazon is illegal,
but ''taking into account the illegal logging on invaded public
lands, the percentage reaches 97.5 percent,'' although a good part
of that is ''legalized'' by undue official authorizations, says
Smeraldi.
Containing deforestation requires developing economic alternatives
that maintain the forests intact and are competitive with the agricultural
businesses that fill in the deforested lands, agree environmentalists
and researchers.
Legal and sustainable logging is one of the most viable ways, says
Veríssimo.
That option is gaining ground even amongst logging businesses. ''The
informal, illegal practices undermine the economy with unfair competition,''
Ivan Tomaselli, vice-president of ABIMCI, a Brazilian processed
lumber industry association, told Tierramérica.
The disorder in land titles means ''legal insecurity and high risks,''
such that investment is only justified if profits are going to be
very high, he said.
Illegally harvested lumber in the Amazon, according to Tomaselli,
today represents just 20 percent of the total, compared to 80 percent
in the past. The proportion of wood certified under best forestry
practices is growing, said the businessman, because it has a ''competitive
advantage'' in major markets like Europe and the United States.
The requirement for certification from the Forest Stewardship Council
is the best stimulus against illegal logging because the rules of
the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES)
and the International Tropical Timber Organization are limited and
not specific enough, according to Friends of the Earth's Smeraldi.
The greatest positive impact could come from the World Trade Organization,
if it makes legal logging and sustainable practices a priority,
says Veríssimo.
But most of the lumber from the Amazon -- 70 to 75 percent -- is
destined for the national market, he said. That is why local environmentalists
are seeking requirements for certification within Brazil.
The Cities Friends of the Amazon program works with municipal governments
and major contractors to convince them to use only wood that comes
from legal sources, and preferably certified, in their public works
projects.
The idea has been well received. Big cities in Sao Paulo state have
already signed on, ''and now we are looking to bring in the major
metropolises like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo itself,'' program
activist Rebeca Lerer told Tierramérica.
* Mario Osava is an IPS correspondent.
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