Our exposé earlier this week about how a Brazilian government agency is handing out areas of the Amazon rainforest to logging companies under the guise of a land settlement programme has set the proverbial cat among the pigeons. The government, has been stressing that deforestation levels are falling but has also said it will launch a full investigation into the situation.
Andre Muggiati, one of our Amazon campaigners, has been doing a slew of interviews for the Brazilian and international media, including the main national radio station in Brazil where he was followed by Guilherme Kassel, the Minister for Rural Development who is responsible for the National Institute of Colonisation and Land Reform (Incra). An impromptu debate ensued during which Muggiati invited the minister to join him on a visit to Santarém to see for himself the impact these underhand deals are having on the rainforest.
Also, as reported in today's Independent, the federal prosecutor in Santarém is demanding the cancellation of the 99 settlements established in region since 2005, which were created without the necessary environmental licences. One of President Luiz Lula da Silva's promises when he was elected in 2003 was to resettle 400,000 landless people and so many settlements were rushed through at the end of 2006 to meet this pledge.
With so much international attention focused on this story, it's no wonder the Brazilian government has been rattled by our investigation. Our campaigners in Brazil will be watching closely to make sure the practice of creating new settlements in areas virgin rainforest comes to an end.
