A LIVING ALTERNATIVE.

'... the sort of policies that might help developing countries to reduce their rate of deforestation are also the sort of policies that are likely to promote economic growth: upholding the rule of law, securing property rights, weeding out corruption and reducing subsidies. That may seem obvious, but it challenges an assumption still widely held in rich and poor countries alike: that rapid development and rapid deforestation must go hand in hand.'

--The Economist, Stumped by Trees, March 21, 1998

Greenpeace's four-month 'Amazon Guardian' Tour through the Amazon River and its tributaries in Amazonas and Para States represents the spearhead of a broad campaign of constructive engagement with government, indigenous communities, and local groups. The aim is to find a way to preserve the delicate ecological balance of the Amazon, and to protect it from illegal and destructive logging, which is so clearly senseless from both an ecological and economical point of view.

A major part of Greenpeace's campaign involves finding economic choices that will offer alternative forms of employment and opportunities that enable people in the region to make a living from the forest without destroying it. This includes extraction of non-timber forest products, eco-tourism, and the practice of an ecologically sustainable logging regime.

Greenpeace has been documenting the activities of the region's illegal logging industry, building alliances with indigenous peoples and other local groups, and working with governments, both State and Federal, in order to crack down on destructive and unsustainable extraction. In addition, while encouraging consumers worldwide to demand more responsible use and management of the Amazon's natural resources, Greenpeace is also working to raise awareness about the role of Brazil's domestic market as one of the major threats to Amazon's ancient forest.