Russian News  
WOOD PILE
No amnesty for Amazon deforestation: Brazil

by Staff Writers
 Brasilia (AFP) Feb 11, 2008
 Brazil's government on Monday dismissed reports suggesting an amnesty was being considered for landowners who were contributing to the deforestation of the Amazon.

Brasilia "is not working on any amnesty proposal for those behind illegal deforestation or on any weakening of legislation" protecting the woodland, Environment Minister Marina Silva told reporters.

She and Agriculture Minister Reinhold Stephanes criticized a congessional committee bill that aims at revising current environmental protection laws for the Amazon by giving landowners more leeway to clear vegetation.

That text, if passed, "would not result in lesser deforestation but rather the legalization of passive environmental protection, and would cause more deforestation," Silva said.

Brazil is currently redoubling efforts to conserve the Amazon -- sometimes called the "lungs" of the planet for its role in absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen -- after seeing increased deforestation in the last half of 2007.

It is stepping up monitoring by police and rangers, and reinforcing penalties against cattle ranchers and loggers who violate the protection laws.

Community
 Email This Article
 Comment On This Article
Related Links
 Forestry News - Global and Local News, Science and Application

WOOD PILE
FAO warns of 'alarming' loss of mangroves
 Rome (AFP) Jan 31, 2008
 Mangrove swamps have shrunk by an "alarming" rate though their disappearance is slowing with improved awareness of their importance to biodiversity, the UN food agency said on Thursday.






SUPERPOWERS
  • Europe Playing With Fire In Afghanistan Warns Lee
  • An Interview With Lee Kuan Yew 2008
  • Analysis: NATO keeps eye on China
  • China's Military Hardware Doctrine For The Early 21st Century Part Two

    • NUKEWARS
  • Disagreements could delay Iran nuclear report: diplomats
  • Ahmadinejad scorns West, domestic critics on nuclear drive
  • US says missile shield antithesis of Cold War arms race
  • Outside View: Russia gets tougher on Iran

    • INDIA NEWS
  • Process On For Establishing Aerospace Command
  • Cisco plans to turn India into global hub, triple workforce
  • India's Biotech Baby Elephant

    • SINO DAILY
  • US Treasury cautions China over sovereign wealth fund
  • World Bank slashes 2008 China growth forecast
  • China, US aluminum giants buy into Rio Tinto
  • US subprime crisis could worsen China's bad loan problem: report

    • ENERGY TECH
  • Hot Oxygen Atoms On Titanium Dioxide Motivated By More Than Just Temperature
  • Geotimes Investigates Iraq's Oil Prospects
  • LifeLine Foods Fuels 2008 IndyCar Series
  • Ecuadoran warned about oil fields in nature preserve

    • STATION NEWS
  • ESA Astronaut Frank De Winne To Spend Six Months On The ISS In 2009
  • Two Canadians to blast off into space in 2009
  • Astronauts launch first space walk of Atlantis mission
  • Atlantis mission back on track after astronaut's illness

    • MILITARY COMMUNICATIONS
  • Raytheon Wins Air Force Satellite Communications Contract
  • Boeing, NG and L-3 All Developing US Navy's EPX prgram
  • Northrop Grumman Demonstrates Compatibility Of AEHF Satellite Interface With Terminals Using Extended-Data-Rate Waveform
  • Boeing Completes On-Orbit Handover Of Wideband Global SATCOM Satellite To USAF

    • MILTECH
  • US Army elevates "stability operations" in new manual
  • General Atomics Team Powers Navy Rail Gun To New World Record
  • NGC Adding Mobile Targets To B-2 Bomber Capabilities
  • BAE Systems Launches ECLiPSE Performance Military Gear Product Line

    • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement