Amazon Forest - Destruction and Hope

Amazon Forest - Destruction and Hope: "...An estimated 45 percent of the logging in the Amazon is illegal, but ''taking into account the illegal logging on invaded public lands, the percentage reaches 97.5 percent,'' although a good part of that is ''legalized'' by undue official authorizations, says Smeraldi.

Containing deforestation requires developing economic alternatives that maintain the forests intact and are competitive with the agricultural businesses that fill in the deforested lands, agree environmentalists and researchers.

Legal and sustainable logging is one of the most viable ways, says Veríssimo.

That option is gaining ground even amongst logging businesses. ''The informal, illegal practices undermine the economy with unfair competition,'' Ivan Tomaselli, vice-president of ABIMCI, a Brazilian processed lumber industry association, told Tierramérica.

The disorder in land titles means ''legal insecurity and high risks,'' such that investment is only justified if profits are going to be very high, he said.

Illegally harvested lumber in the Amazon, according to Tomaselli, today represents just 20 percent of the total, compared to 80 percent in the past. The proportion of wood certified under best forestry practices is growing, said the businessman, because it has a ''competitive advantage'' in major markets like Europe and the United States. [...]"