Spread It

16-9-2005

This is a huge request I have for you all and, probably, if it was not that important I would not be sending this. yes, I know, it may seem a desperate action but this truly is a desperate situation. Fot all of those that may have read my journal, you know what I am talking about, for those who haven't then you'll know what this is all about in a few lines, since it is all explained in the nest paragraph. I am asking you to, please, forward this text to all your e-mail contacts and to put it on your journal if you are with this cause. There is no much time left, we have only until the 20th September and something needs to be done. I would also ask you that if you speak any other language besides english or portuguese to, please, translate this to that language, it is easier to get near more people like that.

Thank you so very much in advanced.


*Mehrunnisa


Dear Friends,

Last Tuesday, 13 of September, the Brazilian politicians discussed the new law project about the exploration of the public brazilian forest (the major part is constituted by the Amazonian rainforests). In the meeting there was basically industrial and politic representation. There were no indigenous people invited for the meeting. We investigated this weird fact, because more or less 14% of the brazilian territory belongs to them and the answer was that they were not invited for the discussion our have been informed about this law project! As we all know, the indigenous people are one of the few cultures that opposes to the cruel exploration of the nature so, it means they are a barrier.

The objective of this journal is to divulgate and discuss the law project, to emphasize the importance of the representation of the rainforest people and to pressure the politicians to preserve the forest instead of destroying it. We couldn’t translate the law project to English, and we are looking for possible translations of this text and the law project to other languages so we can reach more people.

About the law project, we feel that is an effort to regulate, in a central law, the disperse regional and municipal laws. But instead of just order the fiscalization and the preservation of the forest, it allows its exploration. The law project has some interesting paragraphs about the creation of sustainable zones in the forest, but if you rent it for 40 years to an industry or to a multinational, what do you imagine that will happen? Even if you have penalizations, what will they solve when you had already destroyed the forest? Also if you live in Brazil you will know that they are no penalties for the riches and for the corrupts. So in a meeting concerning the laws to be applied to the forest, where the goals are the development of the country represented by the commercial, political and industrial sector, with no representation of the forest people, what can we expect? 50% of the forest will be available to explore in this new law! The enrichment of Brazil is one of the reasons presented to support the law project, but who do you think is going to get the profits from this? And there are already multiple examples of the exploration of the forest by big companies! Can you imagine the pollution damages and the tree devastation?

Talking practically, "exploration" is a contract that the employees sign in order to be able to work for those companies, and that’s it. So this attitude of allowing the exploration of the forests because they cannot control the devastation, doesn’t make any sense. It’s like approving the legalization of crimiminality because you can’t control it. How can you believe in a project that was made by the same persons that were responsible for the fiscalization of the forests in the past and didn’t stop the destruction? So Mother Earth will thank you if we preserve it.

Preservation is the only solution.

You can pressure the following persons by sending them emails to:
1) Preserve and fiscalize the rainforests instead of allowing the exploration, has offered by the law project "SUBSTITUTIVO AO PROJETO DE LEI Nº 4.776, DE 2005";

2) Legitimate the participation of the rainforest people in all this process and for their representation inside the parliament.

We are running out of time and this is really something important. Please, if you wish to help, do hurry, we have only until 20th September.

Ministry of the Ambient: marina.silva@mma.gov.br
bazileu.margarido@mma.gov.br


Phone numbers: Call outside of brasil 005561 + 4009-1057/1058/1289
4009-1422/1059


IBAMA: marcus.barros@ibama.gov.br
inah.guatura@ibama.gov.br

ISA: isadf@socioambiental.org

Senadores (responsible politicians): ana.julia@senadora.gov.br
jefperes@senador.gov.br
flexaribeiro@senador.gov.br
leomar@senador.gov.br


P.S.- I will try to translate this law project soon.