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Within three years Brazil should be replanting the same quantity of forest as it culls, thus relieving the pressure on native woods and reducing deforestation. According to the Director of the National Forests Program in the Ministry of Environment, Tasso de Azevedo, the deficit will be cut by the 2006/2007 harvest period.
Data from the Ministry show that each year Brazil plants around 350 thousand hectares and harvests 500 thousand hectares.
Forest replanting will receive help from the Commercial Forest Plantation Program (PropFlora) and the National Program of Family Farming Incentives for Silviculture and Agroforest Systems (Pronaf Florestal), as well as technical assistance and the participation of private enterprise.
The PropFlora and Pronaf Florestal are programs for small and medium-sized producers. They were developed through interministerial partnerships to encourage reforestation, the recovery of degraded areas, and the generation of jobs and income.
The actions are part of the Ministry of Environment's new National Forest Program, in collaboration with the Ministries of Agrarian Development, National Integration, and Agriculture.
The President of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), Marcus Barros, informed that the Brazilian government has already allocated US$ 14.2 million (R$ 42 million) on activities to combat deforestation.
"The first big action, in the south of Amazônia, enjoys the support of the Armed Forces, which have already begun to act in critical areas."
According to Barros, the operation will be permanent and will embrace other areas. Together with directors and executive managers of the institution, he participated in the IV National Meeting of Ibama Directors, in Serra do Cipó, 100 kilometers from Belo Horizonte.
Another objective of the meeting was to determine a consensus for Ibama's planning and strategies. The agenda of debate also included the question of licensing for forests and conservation units.
Besides the projects in the Amazon, special operations will be carried out to combat charcoal combustion throughout Brazil. "Deforestation is a 20th century legacy that Ibama has the duty to combat," Barros affirmed.
Agência Brasil
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