Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Logging Town Halts Deforestation

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jun 21 2010 (IPS) - The Green Municipality program in the district of Paragominas, in the northern Brazilian state of Pará, is held up as an example for having dramatically reduced deforestation, planting 50 million trees and standardizing rural properties — which means better environmental regulation. The result of the plan begun in 2007, following a pact between large landowners and environmental groups, was celebrated during Alta Floresta Environment Week earlier this month in the western state of Mato Grosso.

“The wise move was to involve the community,” Paragominas Mayor Adnan Demachki told Tierramérica. “In 2010 there has not been any nucleus of deforestation, but the effort continues. We have announced a second pact, for legal and sustainable production.” The goals for the next decade are “zero deforestation,” 100 million trees planted and 12 square meters of green area for every urban inhabitant.

The measures, which include government tracking of the forests as well as environmental education, allowed Paragominas to be removed from the list of 43 municipalities with highest deforestation rates in the Amazon — which are penalized with trade and credit restrictions.