Green anger at Amazon vote

Farmers say economic development must not be hindered

By Stephen Cviic in Sao Paolo

A Brazilian parliamentary commission has voted to scale down proposals aimed at protecting the Amazon rainforest, outraging environmentalists.

The draft law, which now goes to a full vote in the lower house of Congress, was approved despite the opposition of the Brazilian Environment Minister, Jose Sarney Filho, who described it as a victory for retrograde farmers.

This defeat is the fault of the government

Adriana Ramos, Brazilian Socio-Environmental Institute

For months, the Brazilian Government has been discussing the new forestry code with environmentalists and landowners.

Just a few weeks ago, the environment minister reached a deal with non-governmental organisations under which farmers in the Amazon region would be forbidden from chopping down trees on 80% of their land.

Victory for farmers

But Congress's environmental commission ignored the agreement and approved radically-different plans which, if passed, would allow landowners to preserve only half their property in areas of rainforest, and just 20% in the savannah.

It is a clear victory for the farming lobby. It says that environmental concerns should not be allowed to hinder economic development.

Burnt to make farmland

The timing of the vote was significant on a busy day in Brasilia when the government was trying to drum up support for a controversial new minimum wage.

Although Mr Sarney says he is appalled by the decision, the Worldwide Fund for Nature says the government turned a blind eye to the vote as part of its horse-trading with congressmen.

The WWF says it will now try to mobilise public support for changes to the forestry code before it comes to a vote in the lower house.