Brazil's Budget Funds Forest Protection
10/13/99
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Title: BRAZIL's Budget Funds Forest Protection
Source: Environment News Service, http://www.ens.lycos.com/
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: October 13, 1999
BRASILIA, Brazil, October 13, 1999 (ENS) - For the first time in 10
years, the protection of Brazil's native forests and forestry
development have been given prominence in the federal budget. The
National Forests Programme (PNF), announced in late September by
President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, will have R50 million to spend
in its first year.
The Brazilian share of the world wood products market is currently
2.1 per cent.
Both the Ministry of the Environment, which is responsible for the
PNF, and the Brazilian Silviculture Society agree that, even with
this new funding, it will be impossible to keep Brazil from becoming
an importer of timber in 2004.
Only one percent of the trees in the 551 million hectares of
Brazilian forests were planted by humans. Two years ago, the federal
environment agency IBAMA said it is urgent to invest up to $300
million dollars annually in planting new forests.
The idea behind the PNF is to coordinate what are now isolated
initiatives, promote sustainable forest use, and improve management
of the conservation units.
The newly earmarked funding will go to expand the forest base and
provide for sustainable forest development. The sustainability
program will involve assistance to extractive agriculture reserves,
monitoring of the trade in forest products, natural resources
management, and forestry research.
The remainder of the funds will be spent on battling forest fires,
turning the current emergency response pattern of fire fighting into
a routine readiness to handle fires. This is the first year the
Brazilian budget has included funds set aside for fire fighting in
the Amazon. Previously, Proarco, the main program for battling Amazon
region fires, raised its funding from the World Bank.
The World Bank will now provide funding for an Amazon forest
regeneration program to include inspections, environmental education,
auditing of management plans, and studies on forest regeneration.
The National Forests Program will involve a partnership with the
private sector -- the timber, paper, and cellulose manufacturers, the
steel and charcoal industries, users of forestry raw materials,
research and teaching institutions, state and municipal governments,
other federal government ministries and agencies, international
organizations, and non-governmental organizations.