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Brazil establishes 3 new parks in the Amazon rainforest mongabay July 10, 2006 Last month Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva decreed three new protected areas in the Amazon basin, placing 1.84 million hectares (4.55 million acres) of rainforest off-limits for development. The two extractive reserves will serve as zones where local communities can exploit rainforest resources -- including fruits, nuts, rubber and other non-wood forest products -- in a sustainable manner. The environmental ministry said that since 2002 President Silva has created 57 protected areas in the Amazon preserving some 19.3 million hectare of rainforest. More than twice that area -- at least 55 million hectares -- has been cleared since 1978, mostly as a result of forest conversion for cattle pasture and settlement. In 2004 alone, some 2.6 million hectares were leveled. Last year, the deforestation rate was only 1.9 million hectares.
Nevertheless, the establishment of the newly protected areas is an important step in conserving the vast Amazon rainforest. A 2006 study. conducted by researchers at the Woods Hole Research Center and the Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazonia, found that parks reduced deforestation significantly relative to unprotected areas. Still, Brazil's parks are woefully under staffed with only one forest ranger for every 650 square miles of protected area according to environmental group Vitoria Amazonica/ Recommend this article? Comments? Digg this article | Hugg this article | Contact News options News index | RSS | Add to MyYahoo! Advertisements: Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing |
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