9,000 square miles of Amazon jungle lost in year

By The Associated Press and Reuters

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Satellite photos and data showed that 9,169 square miles of rain forest was cut down in the 12 months ending in August 2003, up 2.1 percent from the previous year.

The high rate of destruction alarmed environmentalists, who said the government was doing too little to combat the problem.

"I am worried. The figures are too high," said Rosa Lemos de Sá of the conservation group World Wildlife Fund Brazil. "The tendency is for it to stay high unless drastic measures are taken, and I don't see the government doing anything drastic."

But the government saw the results as a victory.

"We don't want to be overconfident, but we managed to break the rhythm of growth (in destruction) and this is highly significant," said Environment Minister Marina da Silva, who announced the figures in Brasília, the nation's capital.

The 8,980 square miles deforested in the year ending in August 2002 was an increase of almost 40 percent over the previous year.

Brazil's rain forest is as big as western Europe and covers 60 percent of the country's territory. Environmentalists fear its destruction because it is home to up to 30 percent of the planet's animal and plant species and is an important source of medicines.

Experts say as much as 20 percent of its 1.6 million square miles already has been destroyed by development, logging and farming.

While deforestation has increased in recent years, it's still below the peak of 1995, when the Amazon shrank by a record 11,600 square miles.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva last month unveiled plans to halt the destruction amid criticism that his center-left government failed to act during its first year. He promised satellite monitoring and joint action by ministries.
 
But critics say Lula could hasten Amazon destruction as he focuses on infrastructure projects and export crops to fight the economic stagnation and rising unemployment that has dogged Brazil since he entered office.

Deforestation has often lurched higher and lower on the fortunes of Latin America's largest economy and the amount of credit available to farmers.

"It's only thanks to the adverse economic climate the deforestation didn't go even higher last year," said Roberto Smeraldi, director of Friends of the Earth Brazil.

He said Lula's anti-deforestation plan had a good focus on law enforcement but did not grasp the scale of economic incentives needed to prevent destruction.

Most Amazon destruction occurs when forests are burned or logged to create farms. Environmentalists want Lula to push for jobs in areas like sustainable forestry and tourism rather than cattle ranching and soy farming.

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