“The Amazon is not for Sale (*)
Recently, there have been frequent references in the press to foreign individuals, institutions, or even Governments who have become interested in Brazil´s Amazon region. Initiatives have recently surfaced abroad with the aim of acquiring land in the Amazon region for conservation purposes. These initiatives stem from concerns related to the phenomenon of climate change and the possible role of deforestation in this process.
Such proposals reveal lack of information on the Amazon rainforest. They also ignore important scientific data.
Climate change is a genuine problem, to which Brazil attributes great importance. There is a global consensus that the phenomenon is being accelerated by human action. It is a cumulative process, resulting from the progressive concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the last 150 years. To focus attention primarily on the current emissions of countries is therefore wrong and unfair. Some of the current emitters – particularly the emerging countries – have little or no responsibility for the global warming whose effects we are beginning to feel.
The main cause of climate change is well known: at least 80% of the problem is a consequence of the burning of fossil fuels – especially coal and oil – starting in the mid-nineteenth century. Only a small portion results from changes in land use, including deforestation. Current deforestation at the global level is cause for worry for many reasons, but the focus in combating climate change should be one of altering energy matrixes and promoting more intensive use of clean energy. The Climate Change Convention and its Kyoto Protocol are clear: those who caused the problem – the industrialised countries - must meet mandatory reduction targets and have the obligation to act first.
Although it is not expected to meet any mandatory reduction targets – since it has contributed little to the problem – Brazil is doing its part. We have one of the cleanest energy matrixes in the world. Our bio-fuels programs are often quoted as an example for other countries. We are contributing, in this way, to the sustainable development of Brazilian society and to the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Brazil is also implementing an integrated policy to fight deforestation. This policy is based on a multi-sectoral and long-term effort, with actions geared to promoting the value of the native forest and to supporting the socio-economic development of communities that depend on it. In the last few years, we have achieved significant reductions in the rates of deforestation. In 2004-2005, the confirmed decrease was 32%, to which another 11% should be added for the period 2005-2006, according to preliminary data. These are important results, but the efforts toward a permanent decrease in deforestation must continue.
The sustainable management of forests is a favourable field for co-operation on a global scale, through the exchange of experiences and support for technical capacity-building. We welcome such co-operation, but always under strict respect for our laws and our sovereignty.
Brazil participates actively in the international debate on forests. In the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, we will present a proposal to the Nairobi Conference, next November, that seeks to promote incentives for national voluntary efforts to reduce rates of deforestation. We believe that this is an adequate way for developed countries to support the conservation of tropical rainforests.
The proposal is yet another contribution by Brazil to the common effort of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Brazilian society is no longer willing to accept unsustainable development patterns that have led to irreparable environmental damage all over the world. Brazil expects the industrialised countries, who are responsible for the problem, to comply with their obligations for reducing emissions.
Those well-meaning individuals who, for good reason, worry about the planet´s climate, should dedicate themselves to influencing their own governments, with a view to altering unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and to utilising renewable energies. In this area Brazil has much to offer in knowledge and technology.
We are taking care of the Amazon, according to development models based on principles of sustainability defined by Brazilian society. The Amazon is a heritage of the Brazilian people, and it is not for sale.”
(*) This article was signed by
the Minister for External Relations Ambassador Celso Nunes Amorim,
the Minister for the Environment
Ms. Marina Silva and the Minister for Science and Technology Mr. Sérgio Machado Rezende. It was published on 17 October 2006 in “A Folha de São Paulo”.
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