Amazon Deforesting Result

ENN, September 06, 2011

62 percent of the area deforested in the Brazilian Amazon until 2008 is occupied by cattle pasture, reports a new satellite-based analysis by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and its Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa). The research found that 719,000 square kilometers or 17.5 percent of the Brazil had been cleared by 2008. Read more...

Brazil Approves Construction of the Belo Monte Dam Project

ENN, February 2, 2011


The proposed Belo Monte Dam in northern Brazil would be the third largest hydro-electric dam in the world in terms of electrical output. The dam would be 3.75 miles long and generate over 11,000 megawatts, which could power up to 23 million homes. Government officials say that the dam is an essential step in supplying energy to the nation's growing population. However, the project is rife with environmental conflicts. The project requires the clearing of 588 acres of Amazon jungle, the displacement of over 20,000 indigenous people, flooding a 193 square mile area, and drying up a 62 mile stretch of the Xingu River. Read more...

Belo Monte dam approved in Brazil's Amazon

ENN, February 02, 2010

Brazil's government has granted an environmental license for the construction of a controversial hydroelectric dam in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, the Environment Minister said on Monday. The $17 billion project on the Xingu River in the northern state of Para is to help the fast-growing Latin American country cope with soaring demand for electricity but has raised concern over its likely impact on the environment and on native Indians. Read more...

Illegally Shipped Waste to Return to U.K.

ENN, July 23, 2009

When Brazilian port workers began inspecting the contents of a cargo ship from the U.K., they were surprised to find more than 1,400 tons of waste, labeled as recyclable plastics, included with the cargo.
The waste, packed in 89 shipping containers, was unloaded in three southern Brazilian ports and was said to contain batteries, computer parts, DVDs, cleaning product containers, clothes, shoes, old toys, baby diapers, food remains and medical waste, among other items. Read more...

Brazil unveils deforestation plan

BBC News, September 26, 2008

The Brazilian government has pledged to end net deforestation by 2015.
It is one of the key commitments in a draft climate change plan, which stops short of setting specific targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The plan - setting out how Brazil will help prevent climate change, and how it will adapt to it - was promised nearly a year ago by President Lula. Read more...

Read also: Brazil government 'worst logger'

Brazil unable to curb Amazon destruction

ENN, January 31, 2008

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's government is unwilling and unable to halt destruction in the Amazon rainforest despite emergency measures it announced last week to curb rising deforestation, environmental experts say.
High commodity prices and increased land use elsewhere in Brazil are driving ranchers and farmers deeper into the Amazon in search of cheap land, environmentalists say.
Between August and December last year, 7,000 square km (2,703 square miles), or two-thirds the annual rate, were chopped down. Read more...