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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 000893
SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV, EINV, ECON, EAGR, KSCA, BR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL: CONTENTIOUS LAW ENACTED TO HELP CLARIFY MURKY LAND OWNERSHIP ISSUE IN THE AMAZON
REF: A) BRASILIA 123, B) BRASILIA 244 BRASILIA 00000893 001.2 OF 002 (U) THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED AND NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION.
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On June 25, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed legislation (Law No. 11952) that addresses a key factor underlying Brazil's serious deforestation problem, i.e., the lack of clear title to land in the Amazon region. This new law provides farmers and ranchers occupying small plots in the Amazon since December 2004 with clear title for free or a low price without looking too closely at how the land - mostly formerly public land - was acquired. The lack of definite owners has impeded efforts by the authorities to influence the land "owners" to conserve or restore the forests. This new law lays the groundwork to address compliance with the Forest Code for the nearly 20 percent of the Amazon Forest that was cleared prior to 2005. Many environmentalists worry that the new law might lead to more deforestation. END SUMMARY.
BACKGROUND
2. (SBU) Brazil has a serious problem with deforestation in the Amazon region. Though it has made progress, last year over 12,000 square kilometers were cleared, most of it illegally. There are three fundamental challenges in addressing deforestation in Brazil. First, very few of the people occupying the land have clear title to it. Many of them illegally invaded the land (which is mostly owned by the federal government) or acquired the land from such an invader. Second, the people occupying land in the Amazon generally do not comply with the requirement in the Forest Code to maintain 80 percent of the forest on the land (or for small landowners, 50 percent). And third, a small fraction of the twenty million plus people in the region are invading and clearing new areas. There is general agreement within the President's cabinet that clearing up who owns the land in the Amazon will help in persuading the "owner" to bring the land into compliance with the environmental rules.
3. (SBU) While the Brazilian political elite agrees that the government should try harder to prevent new land invasions and clearing, there is a bitter dispute over how to address the other two challenges of land title for previously cleared land and compliance with the Forest Code. Environment Minister Carlos Minc argues that the two issues need to be solved simultaneously. Former-Minister of Strategic Planning Roberto Mangabeira Unger, on the other hand, has contended that the issues needed to be separated and that the land title issue should be resolved first. (NOTE: Mangabeira Unger resigned in July. END NOTE.) Yet a third minister, Minister of Agriculture Reinhold Stephanes who supports the "rural bench," has long sought to water down the Brazilian Forest Code (REFTEL A) by reducing the required forest reserve in the Amazon region from 80 percent to 50 percent. Stephanes also supports amnesty for agriculture producers who illegally occupied land or illegally cleared forests in protected areas prior to July 2007. Environment Minister Minc insisted that the 80 percent requirement be preserved, and so far the Forest Code remains unchanged.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 000893
SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV, EINV, ECON, EAGR, KSCA, BR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL: CONTENTIOUS LAW ENACTED TO HELP CLARIFY MURKY LAND OWNERSHIP ISSUE IN THE AMAZON
REF: A) BRASILIA 123, B) BRASILIA 244 BRASILIA 00000893 001.2 OF 002 (U) THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED AND NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION.
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On June 25, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed legislation (Law No. 11952) that addresses a key factor underlying Brazil's serious deforestation problem, i.e., the lack of clear title to land in the Amazon region. This new law provides farmers and ranchers occupying small plots in the Amazon since December 2004 with clear title for free or a low price without looking too closely at how the land - mostly formerly public land - was acquired. The lack of definite owners has impeded efforts by the authorities to influence the land "owners" to conserve or restore the forests. This new law lays the groundwork to address compliance with the Forest Code for the nearly 20 percent of the Amazon Forest that was cleared prior to 2005. Many environmentalists worry that the new law might lead to more deforestation. END SUMMARY.
BACKGROUND
2. (SBU) Brazil has a serious problem with deforestation in the Amazon region. Though it has made progress, last year over 12,000 square kilometers were cleared, most of it illegally. There are three fundamental challenges in addressing deforestation in Brazil. First, very few of the people occupying the land have clear title to it. Many of them illegally invaded the land (which is mostly owned by the federal government) or acquired the land from such an invader. Second, the people occupying land in the Amazon generally do not comply with the requirement in the Forest Code to maintain 80 percent of the forest on the land (or for small landowners, 50 percent). And third, a small fraction of the twenty million plus people in the region are invading and clearing new areas. There is general agreement within the President's cabinet that clearing up who owns the land in the Amazon will help in persuading the "owner" to bring the land into compliance with the environmental rules.
3. (SBU) While the Brazilian political elite agrees that the government should try harder to prevent new land invasions and clearing, there is a bitter dispute over how to address the other two challenges of land title for previously cleared land and compliance with the Forest Code. Environment Minister Carlos Minc argues that the two issues need to be solved simultaneously. Former-Minister of Strategic Planning Roberto Mangabeira Unger, on the other hand, has contended that the issues needed to be separated and that the land title issue should be resolved first. (NOTE: Mangabeira Unger resigned in July. END NOTE.) Yet a third minister, Minister of Agriculture Reinhold Stephanes who supports the "rural bench," has long sought to water down the Brazilian Forest Code (REFTEL A) by reducing the required forest reserve in the Amazon region from 80 percent to 50 percent. Stephanes also supports amnesty for agriculture producers who illegally occupied land or illegally cleared forests in protected areas prior to July 2007. Environment Minister Minc insisted that the 80 percent requirement be preserved, and so far the Forest Code remains unchanged.
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