Brazilian agribusiness wants to destroy the Amazon to grow sugar

Posted by Richardg — 10 December 2013 at 6:20pm - Comments
Burning pasture in the Amazon
All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace/Rodrigo Baleia
Burning pasture in the Amazon

With deforestation rising after years of decline, why are Brazilian senators trying to make it easier to destroy the Amazon to grow sugar cane?

Since 2009, the Brazilian government has outlawed the growing of sugar cane in the Amazon. Yet last Tuesday, the Senate Commission of Science, Technology, Innovation, Communication and Computing approved a new regulation that permits planting of sugar cane in the Amazon.

This is just another symptom of the rise of the Ruralistas, wealthy and powerful agriculturalists that have taken over much of Brazil's government. Piece by piece, the Ruralistas are waging war on the Amazon and the laws that protect it.

Last year, they successfully changed the Forest Code - despite massive opposition from the Brazilian public - removing many of the legal barriers to rainforest destruction. They are trying to remove indigenous peoples' hard-won rights. They have also lobbied hard to undermine the government agencies that protect the Amazon.

Is it any wonder then that deforestation in the Amazon rose 28% last year, after almost a decade of decline?

Demand for sugar is growing. Yet there is no reason to put the Amazon at risk. Even with the restrictions on planting, there are still 64.7m hectares in Brazil available for sugar cane expansion (.pdf). That's twice as much land as is being used to grow sugar cane at the moment - more than enough to meet future demand.

The bill still needs to be passed by the Senate's Economic Affairs Committee before being voted on in the Brazilian Congress. There is still time to stop this - if the government is willing to take a stand and say that the Amazon is more important than a few people making a quick buck.

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