Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon surged in March and last month, the government said on Wednesday, fueling criticism that a proposed law to ease land-use rules may be spurring illegal tree-felling.
Brazilian Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira told reporters the government was creating a “crisis Cabinet” to investigate the jump in destruction of the forest, which mostly occurred in the center-west farming state of Mato Grosso.
The area of Amazon forest lost in the two months totaled 593km2, up 473 percent from a year ago, preliminary satellite data showed.
In the period from last August to last month it rose 27 percent, raising the prospect that the closely watched annual deforestation rate will rise this year.
The unexpected leap, at a time of year when deforestation is usually low, comes as Brazil’s Congress is locked in a heated debate over a law that would effectively give amnesty to many farmers who have illegally cleared land.
Environmentalists say the bill gives too much weight to the economic interests of the influential farm lobby and will set back recent progress in reducing destruction of the world’s largest forest.
“You have 300 to 400 lawmakers here in Brasilia sending the message that profiting from deforestation will be amnestied, that crime pays,” said Marcio Astrini, an Amazon campaigner for Greenpeace. “The only relevant factor is the forest code. It is a gigantic rise.”
Congress delayed a vote on the new forest code last week after days of often acrimonious debate, but it is expected to go ahead next week. A bill that is viewed as rowing back conservation in the Amazon could prove embarrassing for Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who pledged during her campaign last year to maintain Brazil’s commitment to protect the Amazon.
Destruction of the forest, which is largely caused by land-clearing for cattle and other farming, is a major source of carbon emissions that contribute to global warming.
The new forest code would reduce the amount of forest farmers must preserve, relax the conservation of hilltops, and provide amnesty from massive fines for past deforestation in Brazil.
Local farmers say more flexibility on environmental regulations will help them compete on more level footing against other big farming nations such as the US and Argentina. Brazil is among the world’s largest exporters of soy, beef, coffee and other key food commodities.
Teixeira said it was unclear what had caused the deterioration in the huge state of Mato Grosso, which lost half as much forest last month — 400km2 — as it did in the whole of last year.
The government is determined to ensure deforestation falls in the August-to-July annual period, she told a news conference.
“The order is to reduce deforestation by July ... It is a formal promise the government has made. We have to achieve the national plan on climate change,” she said.
Deforestation of the Amazon fell to its lowest level on record from 2009 to last year at 6,500km2, down from a peak of 29,100km2 in the mid-1990s.
‘HYANGDO’: A South Korean lawmaker said there was no credible evidence to support rumors that Kim Jong-un has a son with a disability or who is studying abroad South Korea’s spy agency yesterday said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who last week accompanied him on a high-profile visit to Beijing, is understood to be his recognized successor. The teenager drew global attention when she made her first official overseas trip with her father, as he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Analysts have long seen her as Kim’s likely successor, although some have suggested she has an older brother who is being secretly groomed as the next leader. The South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) “assesses that she [Kim Ju-ae]
In the week before his fatal shooting, right-wing US political activist Charlie Kirk cheered the boom of conservative young men in South Korea and warned about a “globalist menace” in Tokyo on his first speaking tour of Asia. Kirk, 31, who helped amplify US President Donald Trump’s agenda to young voters with often inflammatory rhetoric focused on issues such as gender and immigration, was shot in the neck on Wednesday at a speaking event at a Utah university. In Seoul on Friday last week, he spoke about how he “brought Trump to victory,” while addressing Build Up Korea 2025, a conservative conference
China has approved the creation of a national nature reserve at the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島), claimed by Taiwan and the Philippines, the government said yesterday, as Beijing moves to reinforce its territorial claims in the contested region. A notice posted online by the Chinese State Council said that details about the area and size of the project would be released separately by the Chinese National Forestry and Grassland Administration. “The building of the Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve is an important guarantee for maintaining the diversity, stability and sustainability of the natural ecosystem of Huangyan Island,” the notice said. Scarborough
DEADLOCK: Putin has vowed to continue fighting unless Ukraine cedes more land, while talks have been paused with no immediate results expected, the Kremlin said Russia on Friday said that peace talks with Kyiv were on “pause” as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin still wanted to capture the whole of Ukraine. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that he was running out of patience with Putin, and the NATO alliance said it would bolster its eastern front after Russian drones were shot down in Polish airspace this week. The latest blow to faltering diplomacy came as Russia’s army staged major military drills with its key ally Belarus. Despite Trump forcing the warring sides to hold direct talks and hosting Putin in Alaska, there
RSS