Amazon deforestation increases sharply while forest code debated

By Rhett A. Butler, www.mongabay.com
16 May 2011 Deforestation has increased sharply in Mato Grosso over the past nine months according to information leaked to Folha.com. The news, revealed during a lecture last Friday in Cuiaba, is significant because INPE, Brazil’s space research agency that tracks deforestation has unusually not provided any updates from its rapid deforestation detection system (DETER) since February, a period during which Brazil’s forest code has been hostly debated in Congress. The agricultural lobby is pushing for reductions in the amount of forest farmers and ranchers must set aside for conservation under the forest code. Environmentalists call the proposed changes a weakening of the code and fear it could be used to grant amnesty to deforesters and encourage more forest clearing in the future. Some green groups say there has already been an uptick in clearing in anticipation of amnesty. According to Folha.com, deforestation in Mato Grosso climbed 43% between August 2010 and April 2011 compared with the same period last year. Mato Grosso, which accounts for the bulk of Amazon deforestation in most years, is a bellwether for deforestation trends in Brazil. …

Information leak: Amazon deforestation increases sharply while forest code debated