Joint Statement About Amazon Deforestation Figures

["greenbase" <greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org>]

Joint Statement by Friends of the Earth, SOS Mata Atlantica
Foundation, Greenpeace, Amazon Working Group and Socio-
environmental Institute about the data charting deforestation in
the Amazon Forest released by the government yesterday, January
28, 1998.

In the Last Three Years, Total Deforestation of the Amazon
Forest is 11% (ELEVEN PER CENT) of all Amazon Deforestation
Since the Year 1500

Amazon Deforestation Breaks Record in 1995

Sao Paulo, January 27, 1998 -- Deforestation of the Brazilian
Amazon region reached historical levels in 94/95, data released
yesterday by the Brazilian institute for space research INPE
confirmed. In one year alone, 2,905,900 hectares of forest were
eliminated, an area greater than the total area of the state of
Sergipe and the federal district as well as double the annual
average verified in earlier years, 92/94. This number also
exceeds by around 38 percent the average annual total for the
period 1978-1988, called the decade of destruction, that
stimulated an enormous international mobilization to protect the
Amazon.

The data is absolutely alarming. With the new figures, the total
area of Amazonian deforestation has reached 51 million hectares.
In other words, an area of primary forest double the size of the
state of Sao Paulo has been eliminated from the map.

Even though deforestation in the 95/96 period represented a
decline to 1,816,100 hectares and estimates for 1997, developed
by INPE for areas considered critical, indicate a trend toward
reduction to 1,303,700 hectares, the numbers are extremely high,
remaining greater than the annual average for the 90/91 period
(1,113,000 hectares.) In addition, these critical areas are not
considered new frontiers of Amazon Forest destruction,
especially in the state of Amazonas.

Given these facts, the federal government's optimistic
evaluation, pointing to a downward trend, is erroneous. The
numbers are sufficient to justify the immediate adoption of
emergency measures that have not been taken to date. The series
of measures proposed by the government and preliminarily
announced yesterday -- despite pointing in a positive direction
in the plan to involve other organs such as the Ministry of
Agriculture and INCRA -- still lack sufficient detail, thus
impeding an adequate appraisal.

In addition to the raw data for the entire Amazon region, INPE
used innovative methodologies to demonstrate the rates of
deforestation by type of vegetation. The data demonstrated that
50 percent of the deforestation in 94/95 and 95/96 was
concentrated in regions with the most economically important
forest species. This fact can confirm a change in the profile of
occupation in the region, in which the activities of logging
companies now play a principal role in the process of forest
destruction. In the event that this is confirmed, the entry of
foreign investment through the arrival of highly capitalized
Asian logging companies could aggravate this situation in coming
years if immediate measures are not adopted to control their
activities. It is important to highlight that the data presented
yesterday does not include areas degraded by selective cuts
practised by logging companies.

Greenpeace on the Internet at http://www.greenpeace.org