Seven environmental organizations from the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul are demanding that federal justice authorities only authorize eucalyptus plantations if they comply with environmental impact studies. Their concern arises from the advance of tree farming in southern Brazil, led by the paper pulp factories Votorantin, Aracruz and Stora Enso.

“We demand that the companies as well as the state and federal governments comply with the environmental legislation for silviculture projects, because the eucalyptus plantations (Eucaliptus camaldulensis) are exempt with softer requirements,” Edi Xavier, president of the Gaúcha Association for Environmental Protection, told Tierramérica.

The environmentalists charge that the grand-scale tree farms create enormous threats to the biomes of the southern plains and want to prevent the harm caused by the eucalyptus farming sector in other Brazilian states.