Brasilia - On the first day of the Week of the Environment, Greenpeace presented a letter to the Ministry of the Environment of Brazil, demanding effective measures to implement, demarcate and protect the Amazon National Park, an area under federal protection in the state of Para, where the rainforest is being clear cut for cattle ranching.

According to IBAMA, Brazil's Environment Agency, Wirland Freire, a local farmer who is also the mayor of the nearby municipality of Itaituba, has completely destroyed more than 700 hectares of forest inside the Amazon National Park.

"More than 26 years after its creation, the Amazon National Park is protected only in documents. It is a 'Paper Park'. There are no signs to demarcate the boundaries of the park, and only two guards are in charge of keeping vigil over an area of almost 1m hectares", said Paulo Adario, Greenpeace Amazon campaigner.

This situation is duplicated throughout the Brazilian Amazon. In the State of Amazonas 84 percent of protected areas exist only on maps and in filing cabinets. "Most of the conservation units in the Amazon are nothing but pieces of paper. The government must stop talking and turn intentions into protection", stated Adario.

The Amazon National Park is a biodiversity refuge. Endangered species such as jaguars and manatees live there, and its forest is rich in Brazil Nut trees, some over 80 metres high.

Brazilian Law defines National Parks as areas of permanent protection, with scientific and educational value, that cannot be used for any activity that may alter their natural integrity.

Take action against Amazon deforestation
Send a letter to the President of Brazil and voice your opposition to further destruction.

For more information about Greenpeace's ancient forests campaign, email: guestforest@ams.greenpeace.org