Amazon

Amazon timber shipment blocked in France

Posted by jamie — 18 March 2008 at 7:12pm - Comments

Greenpeace volunteers boarding the Galina III

Boarding the Galina III yesterday © Greenpeace/Karl Joseph

Yesterday afternoon, the crew of one of our ships - the Arctic Sunrise - swung into action in the French port of Caen. Their mission: to prevent a shipment of Amazon timber, acquired from companies linked to illegal logging activities, from entering the EU. And after nearly 24 hours, they're still going strong.

The timber is aboard the Galina III and, as it tried to enter the port, five Greenpeace volunteers (including a group from the UK) climbed aboard where they attached themselves to two of the ship's cranes. Since then, the Galina has been unable to dock to unload its cargo, a mixture of timber species with wonderfully exotic names: amarelao, macaranduba, ipe, garapeira, cumaru and jarana to name a few. And as I write, the team on the cranes is still holding out.

Article tagged as: amazon, brazil, EU, FLEGT, forests, illegal timber, south america

Fire and ice: images from the Amazon and the antarctic

Posted by jamie — 3 March 2008 at 1:44pm - Comments

One of the pleasures of working at Greenpeace is having access to a truly incredible photo library and there's been more than one occasion when, looking for images to accompany a blog story, I've become lost in the wealth of powerful and affecting images.

The photographers who supply us with these photos are rewarded for their work with the occasional trophy and Daniel Beltra, who has accompanied Greenpeace campaigners on expeditions all over the world, was last week presented with the Global Vision Award for photos he took in the Amazon as part of Pictures of the Year International. He also received an Award of Excellence in the Science/Nature category for a collection from the Antarctic, taken during last year's Southern Ocean expedition on the Esperanza.

Article tagged as: amazon, awards, brazil, daniel beltra, forest fires, images, mining, slideshows

Army brought in to help illegal Amazon timber crackdown

Posted by jamie — 29 February 2008 at 12:45pm - Comments

An illegal logging camp in the Amazon

An illegal logging camp in the Amazon © Greenpeace/Daniel Beltra

Stung by the recent rise in deforestation rates in the Amazon, the Brazilian government is cracking down on the illegal loggers who are ripping up the rainforest; their year-long initiative - known as Operation Fire Belt - is targeting areas where deforestation has been most acute.

Article tagged as: amazon, brazil, deforestation, destructive logging, forests, illegal timber, south america

Amazon gets smaller as deforestation rates rise

Posted by jamie — 25 January 2008 at 4:21pm - Comments

Last year, we heard the excellent news that the rate of deforestation in the Amazon had dropped for the third consecutive year. However, yesterday came the rather less welcome news that those rates had changed and have moved in an upward direction.

Article tagged as: amazon, brazil, climate change, deforestation, forests, south america

Greenpeace activists held captive in the Amazon

Posted by jamie — 18 October 2007 at 11:26am - Comments

A mob led by loggers prevents Greenpeace activists from leaving Brazilian government offices

A mob led by loggers prevents Greenpeace activists from leaving Brazilian government offices ©Greenpeace/Rodrigo Baleia

There's been further friction in the Amazon between Greenpeace staff and angry loggers and townspeople. It's all ended peacefully but the situation was tense and they were holed up overnight under police protection. This from Reuters:

Police escorted a group of Greenpeace activists from a remote town in the Brazilian Amazon on Wednesday after hundreds of loggers and townspeople besieged them overnight in protest against an anti-global warming campaign, the environmental organization said.

Article tagged as: agriculture, amazon, brazil, deforestation, forests, south america

Seven years to save the Amazon

Posted by jamie — 3 October 2007 at 6:29pm - Comments

An area of burnt forest inside a protected area of the Amazon rainforest

A burnt area of the Amazon rainforest in Itaituba 2, a protected area (Photo: Daniel Beltra)

Seven years? It's a tall order but we have a cunning plan. Together with eight other national campaigning organisations, our Brazilian team have launched an ambitious proposal with a goal of zero deforestation by 2015.

The plan sets out specific targets that could see deforestation drop gradually over the next seven years, pushing for a cut of 25 per cent in the first year compared to figures for 2005/6. It's thinking on a massive scale, but we believe it can be done - with deforestation rates already falling and with a concerted effort it really could happen.

Article tagged as: amazon, blairo maggi, brazil, deforestation, forests, south america

Threats and intimidation down Amazon way

Posted by jamie — 30 August 2007 at 3:48pm - Comments

As the narrator of this startling video states, "working in the Amazon forest is not for the faint of heart." In the past, people from campaigning organisations have been bullied by land owners and workers, facing intimidation, violence, death threats and even murder.

Article tagged as: agriculture, amazon, brazil, deforestation, indigenous people, south america, videos

Update: Amazon land settlements suspended

Posted by jamie — 29 August 2007 at 10:39am - Comments

There have been further developments in the Amazon. As we reported last week, Greenpeace Brazil published its investigation into deals between a Brazilian government agency and logging companies over areas of rainforest under the guise of a land settlement programme.

Article tagged as: amazon, brazil, deforestation, forests, INCRA, land settlements, south america

Brazilian government to investigate land reform scandal

Posted by jamie — 23 August 2007 at 4:13pm - Comments

A girl from a landless community in Para State, BrazilOur 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.

Article tagged as: amazon, brazil, deforestation, forests, INCRA, land reform, south america
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