Brazilian Forest Code Changes Pass a Vote in the House of Representatives! What’s Next?
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The Brazilian Forest Code Changes have survived a Vote in the House and Passed! Can you believe it? (We couldn’t, or rather didn’t want to)
This was after multiple rounds of debate, where no one really got to see the final text of the code, because the draft was constantly being changed by Aldo Rebeldo (the author of these changes) in an effort to try and get it to pass. But how exactly did he expect representatives were going to vote on these significant (clarification significant here = bad, not good) changes to the code that will have such a HUGE impact on forests, if they can’t even see the full text?!
So what’s next?: The text will now be voted on in the Brazilian Senate, where, hopefully, there will be more time to debate exactly what these changes will mean for future of the Amazon, small farmers making a modest living off the land, and big agribusiness.
Check out an EXCLUSIVE Press Release from National Wildlife Federation to learn more:
Brazilian Forest Protections Under Threat: Amazon in the Crosshairs
A serious weakening of Brazil’s Forest Code has passed through the lower house of the legislature, signaling an attempt to make the most significant change in the code since 1965. Should the amendment pass a later vote in Brazil’s Senate, it will undermine forest protections and threaten tens of millions of acres of natural habitat and wildlife.
Internationally, the Forest Code is considered to be one of the world’s most progressive forest policies. By passing today’s modifications, however, the Brazilian House of Representatives could be rolling back much of the progress Brazil has achieved towards reducing national deforestation rates, which have fallen over 70 percent in the last six years.
One particularly controversial proposal would greatly reduce the percentage of their properties that landowners are required to keep as forest. While this amount varies by region in Brazil, the proposed changes would allow additional areas to be legally cleared.
Another key amendment coming under fire from opponents includes a provision that would give amnesty to farmers who illegally deforested their land before 2008. While those behind the new provision declare it an opportunity to give the farmers a clean slate, many that did adhere to the law object that they are being penalized for compliance. Under the new proposals, farmers who were found in violation of the Forest Code before July 2008 would be pardoned and allowed to keep profits earned by farming illegally on deforested lands rather than facing fines.
The Green Party and leading Brazilian civil society organizations oppose the proposals. “The Forest Code is the primary law protecting our forests and biodiversity,” said Marina Silva, former Environmental Minister and leader of Brazil’s Green Party. “Instead of debating an update that would give amnesty to those who broke the law, we should be discussing a forest policy that improves the protection of forests, creates incentives for development of agriculture and forestry, generates jobs and improves income in the rural sector.”
Calls for modification of the Code have grown louder in the past few years, notably from a legislative bloc known as the Ruralistas, who argue the changes are necessary for Brazil to be a globally competitive crop producer, while still growing enough to feed Brazil’s rapidly expanding population. They claim that the need to increase available farmland requires cutting into forests, though this is disputed by those working to improve land management in the Amazon.
Should these changes pass in the Senate, they will then go before newly-elected President Dilma Rousseff for possible veto. Estimates suggest that tens of millions of acres of Amazon rainforest could be lost as a result of relaxing the Forest Code, which would release greenhouse gas pollution on the scale of the U.S. annual rate of emissions.
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The National Wildlife Federation is America’s largest conservation organization inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children’s future.
Immediate Release: May 24, 2011
Contacts: Barbara Bramble +1 202-797-6601 bramble@nwf.org; Nathalie Walker +1-202-797-6817 walkern@nwf.org; Sabrina Patel +1-202-797-6637 patels@nwf.org
