03/02/2012

Appeal to CeBIT guest of honor Rousseff: Save the indigenous peoples in the rain forest!

Stop the amendment of the Rain Forest Act!

Last-minute rescue for the rain forest in Brazil and the indigenous communities living there: that is what the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) and Rettet den Regenwald e.V. ("Save the Rain Forest") are hoping for from Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. And that is why human rights and environmental activists are appealing to the guest of honor with a vigil at the opening event at CeBIT 2012 on Monday in Hanover. They want Rousseff to veto the new Rain Forest Act (Código Forestal) in their country, which is slated for enactment on Tuesday (March 6) and would have dire consequences for indigenous peoples and for the climate. The new law would permit the deforestation of an area as large as Germany, Austria and Italy put together.

Yvonne Bangert, head of the STP's Indigenous Peoples Section, fears that the new law would lead to a significant increase in forest clearing in the Brazilian rain forest and at the same endanger the survival of many indigenous communities. Protection of the forested areas would be undermined for the benefit of agribusiness and its never-ending quest for more cultivable acreage, to grow soy beans or use for grazing cattle. Some 70 different tribes that had chosen to live in seclusion would be exceptionally vulnerable to the increasing deforestation. The amendment would also be a huge step backwards for climate protection efforts. Logging should continue to be punishable by law and the cleared areas reforested with indigenous vegetation, says David Vollrath of Rettet den Regenwald e.V., adding that these millions of acres of rain forest must be protected, not destroyed.

The new law would permit owners of rain forest land to protect only 50% of the forest areas on their property, rather than the 80% now required. Those responsible for the illegal felling of trees have been granted amnesty. A strip of protected land alongside the river, in places up to 100 kilometers wide, is set to be made much narrower. This will negatively affect water quality and exacerbate land erosion. Fish stocks will be devastated as well, endangering the livelihood of the indigenous people. The vast majority of the Brazilian population is against further clearing of the rain forests. In May 2011, 200 organizations from Brazil and many other countries released a joint declaration condemning the planned legal amendment. The UNO Climate Change Conference "Rio + 20" will take place in Brazil in June 2012. Amending the Rain Forest Act would send the wrong signal to everyone concerned with protecting the climate.