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Rain Forest Destruction
The disappearing Amazon rainforest
Jun 1st
Economist.com | The disappearing Amazon rainforest.
The disappearing Amazon rainforest May 19th 2005 From The Economist Global Agenda
IF IT were simply a matter of passing strong laws to protect it, the Amazon rainforest—the world’s largest tropical forest, around the size of western Europe—would be safe. Brazil, whose territory includes about two-thirds of the forest, has impressively tough laws that, on paper, set most of it aside as a nature reserve and impose stiff penalties for illegal logging. But the latest annual figures for deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, published by the government on Wednesday May 18th, have confirmed a disturbing recent trend: the destruction is accelerating despite all efforts to curb it.…
Brown expects disappointing forest plan.
May 24th
Brown expects disappointing forest plan. 01/05/2005. ABC News Online.
Last Update: Sunday, May 1, 2005. 7:05am (AEST) Brown expects disappointing forest plan Australian Greens Senator Bob Brown says Prime Minister John Howard’s election promise to protect more of Tasmania’s old-growth forests is unlikely to end the forests debate. Senator Brown says Mr Howard is likely to use the Timber Communities Australia (TCA) national conference in Launceston on May 14 to unveil the forest package negotiated with Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon. He says while some Tarkine rainforest and the north Styx forest will be protected, the south Styx forests will not. "We’re going to see a faster rate of destruction in the wake of Prime Minister Howard’s announcement, which is going to be dressed up to appear as if this is the end of the forests dispute in Tasmania," he said. "Because Prime Minister Howard hasn’t shown the leadership to put an end to the destruction of Tasmania’s high-conservation forests and their wildlife, this issue is going to be far, far from over." A spokesman for Timber Communities Australia says Mr Howard and Mr Lennon have been invited to attend the conference. Senator Brown says the choice of venue to announce the forests’ deal suggests most of the state’s high conservation-value forests will go to the woodchipper. "This announcement is going to sell Tasm
Amazon deforestation in Brazil back to alarming level
May 24th
Scope: Amazon deforestation in Brazil back to alarming level.
Friday May 20, 8:32 AM Scope: Amazon deforestation in Brazil back to alarming level (Kyodo) _ The statistics released by the Brazilian government concerning deforestation levels in the Amazon rainforest last year have alarmed environmentalists. The world’s largest tropical forest lost 26,130 square kilometers of original vegetation in the period, according to the Environment Ministry. The annual devastated area is the second largest since 1995, when 29,059 square km of the rainforest was destroyed. The destroyed area may be even larger because the National Institute of Space Research, which produced the statistics based on satellite images, will close the study only by the end of 2005. Environmentalists say the Brazilian authorities are not doing enough to conserve the rainforest. "Sustainable development has not yet been adopted by the federal government and by most state governments as a policy for the Amazon, although this is the base of documents, projects and official speeches," said the Brazilian branch of WWF, the international environmentalist organization.
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