AMAZON LOGGING PROPOSAL

4/4/01

Environmentalists are stepping up their
campaign against controversial moves to log
half of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. The
Brazilian Congress is due to vote on the
proposal, after a National Environmental
Council reports back to it later this month. The
Congress is considering whether to allow up to
50% of the Amazon to be cleared for farming
and livestock grazing. If approved, the logging
project would deforest an area four times the
size of Portugal.