From the Newsroom*
São Paulo – Nine non-governmental organisations have launched today (4), in Brasília (capital of Brazil), in the Federal District, a pact aimed at giving the Brazilian Amazon forest its due value, and ending deforestation. The goal is to establish a wide-ranging commitment between different sectors of the government and the Brazilian society that enables the adoption of urgent actions to ensure the preservation of the Amazon forest.
The proposal consists of setting annual goals for progressively reducing in the deforestation rate, which should reach zero by 2015. The NGOs estimate that yearly investments of 1 billion Brazilian reais (US$ 547.2 million) would be required, coming from national and international sources, to financially compensate those who promote reduction in deforestation, and to pay for environmental services carried out in the forest.
The Brazilian minister of the Environment, Marina Silva, and state governors Eduardo Braga, of Amazonas (N), Blairo Maggi, of Mato Grosso (MW), and Waldez Góes, of Amapá (N), attended the event. "This is just the start, but it is a good start, and it is something interesting. We are building a national plan with common, but differentiated responsibilities," said the minister.
By 2006, approximately 17% of the Amazon forest had already been destroyed. Besides accelerating the reduction in biodiversity, with direct impacts in the lifestyles of millions of people who depend on the forest to survive, deforestation is also an important source of emission of gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect, which accelerates global warming. Deforestation and burning, especially in the Amazon, have placed Brazil in the 4th position in the global ranking of polluter countries.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
