Brazil

One of the arguments used by large-scale tree plantation promoters (with the pulp and paper industry at the forefront) is that they contribute to the well being of the rural areas where they are set up, by increasing employment opportunities. This is a crucial issue: unemployment is one of the most negative consequences of the ongoing globalization process, so any activity that promises to increase jobs can be perceived as being attractive by local people.

The "environmentally concerned" French car producer Peugeot, decided to do something about the global warming effect of the millions of cars it produces. Of course, nothing as radical as switching to a different source of fuel. Instead, it decided to go the easy way: to plant "carbon sequestering" trees in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil. The project began to be implemented last year, with the aim of converting 12,000 hectares of "degraded" pastures into plantations.

A recent publication on the effects of forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon shows that selective logging followed by the use of the logged area for agriculture and cattle raising is resulting in much more than just forest degradation.

Brazil will soon celebrate the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the Portuguese. Nevertheless, for the indigenous peoples living in what later became Brazil, this is not a day for celebration. The arrival of the Europeans meant the beginning of their genocide and the destruction of the environment in the rich land of the "pau Brazil". When Brazil became an independent state, the situation of indigenous peoples did not improve and in many cases became even worse.

For centuries, the inhabitants of the Amazon lived in balance with nature. The groups had small areas of land, the idea of property was unknown to them, and they were able to find everything they needed to live well. This style of life was destroyed by the arrival of the first Europeans, and ever since the exploitation of nature and its inhabitants has caused the extinction of species, loss of livelihoods and cultures, and more widespread poverty.

On March 23rd the Government of the State of Espirito Santo, Brazil, issued Decree 4428 with new regulations related to "reforestation" (plantations) in that state. Plantations occupying an area of more that 100 hectares will require a permit form the Agriculture and Forestry Defence Institute (IDAF), while plantations of less than that area will not need a permit. Additionally, the decree establishes maximum percentages for plantations in different zones, which can reach 50% in the central hilly, extreme northern and north-western regions.

The destruction of the Amazon forests is strongly related to the violence that indigenous people and local communities have historically suffered to the hands of big landowners and with the compliance of local authorities. On February 22nd the Oxford Office of the WRM sent letters to several Brazilian authorities expressing concern for the assaults and murders recently happened against Macuxi indogenous people in Roraima State. The text of the letter is as follows:

The ex-congressman and vice-governor from Mato Grosso state Marcio Lacerda is the new president of the Brazilian Indian Foundation (FUNAI). He succeeds in this post Sullivan Silvestre, who died on February 1st in an air crash while he was on duty. Mr Lacerda is one of the chief proponents of the system of waterways, including the Tocantins-Araguaia Hidrovia which would negatively affect the territory occupied by 10,000 indigenous people. During his first public declarations he defended gold mining, and biodiversity and timber exploitation in indigenous lands.

By means of this letter, we would like to comment the article of Mr. Julio Cesar Centeno, published in the October edition of 'Aracruz News', bulletin of the pulp and eucalyptus plantation company Aracruz Celulose. In his article, Mr Centeno praises the eucalyptus plantations at Aracruz Celulose because of their "capacity to have a significant impact on local and national economies".

At the COP4 of the Climate Change Convention held in Buenos Aires, Brazil, together with China and India, led the position of developing countries demanding the acknowledgement of historical responsibilities by countries in relation to climate change. The Brazilian delegation also underscored the need for the protection of the Amazon forest. However, domestic forest policy does not seem to go in the same direction.

After a long struggle started in 1995, Brazilian NGOs and peasant organizations, with support from representatives of the Catholic church, succeeded in halting a megaproject of eucalyptus plantation in the state of Amapa in northern Brazil. The plan of Champion Paper and Cellulose. and its subsidiary Chamflora Amapa Agroflorestal Ltda to set up 100,000 hectares of eucalyptus, would have affected the lands and livelihoods of the peasants of the region.

We received the following message from Brazilian forester Jackson Roberto Eleoterio (from the University of Sao Paulo), which we can't but share with our readers: