Major embargos mean new hope for 'protected' forests

Between the Xingu and Tapajós rivers in the Terra do Meio, or Middle Land, lie 7.4 million acres of protected forest. The conservation areas were created in 2005, following the assassination of Sister Dorothy Stang, who spoke out against illegal logging and in defence of peasant farmers trying to make a living without deforestation. But authorities are struggling to protect the mahogany-rich land and its people. According to a report compiled by the Amazonian non-profit research institute Imazon, with the support of the British Embassy in Brazil, poor administration and chronic delays in judicial proceedings mean that illegal exploitation of the land often goes unpunished.

The report found that, due to a shortage of attorneys and inefficient use of their time, only 3% of cases reached any conclusion, with the vast majority held up in never-ending appeals. Moreover, out of the few rulings that were made, only 10% of fines were collected – with environmental protection agency IBAMA totting up R$11.8 billion in outstanding penalties.

These failures have allowed an estimated 40 million hectares to be seized illegally, making deforestation much more profitable for exploiters than investment to improve the productivity of land outside the protected area. In June 2009, the Government put its foot down with a bill to regularise landholdings, and a programme to implement it. But an analysis of the bill by Imazon raised concerns that the low price offered for the rights to smaller areas – with some even given away free – could drive deforestation rather than put a stop to it.

And yet, in spite of the legal minefield, there’s hope. A number of effective incentives for compliance are beginning to shine through the shadows. Among them, embargos agreed by three major supermarkets, Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Pao de Acucar – and three footwear giants, Adidas, Clarks and Timberland – on meat and leather from ranches on illegally deforested land. Perhaps buoyed by such commercial action, government authorities are starting to get tougher, too. Cattle found grazing on protected land have been seized, and sold at auction. The confiscation of 3,000 heads of cattle in 2008 led to the voluntary removal of 30,000 more. And credit restrictions have been imposed by the federal government for anyone with more than 400ha of untitled land. As a result of these measures, deforestation rates have begun to drop – even as commodity prices rise.

According to Imazon, there’s now a clear way forward. The organisation hopes to drive public pressure on landholders to adopt more sustainable practices, through embargos, procurement regulations and public prosecutions. If this civil force goes hand in hand with a higher conviction rate for offences and the proper application of penalties to fit the crime, then the ‘protection’ offered to Terra do Meio on paper could take effect in practice, too. – Anna Simpson

3 March 2010

Anna Simpson