Rubber
The rubber tree is native to the Amazon rainforest, but rubber plantations have spread across every tropical forest region. These plantations are increasingly large-scale, intensively-managed and have even-aged trees. The rubber is used for industrial purposes, such as the production of car tires. In some regions, small-scale rubber plantations are part of peasant farming. In the Amazon region, rubber continues to be extracted from trees that grow in the forest.
The following Statement was issued on 24/11/05 in Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil at an international meeting on building support for local communities against large-scale tree plantations and GMO trees. This meeting was co-sponsored by World Rainforest Movement, FASE-ES and Global Justice Ecology Project.