Improvement from Cattle Ranching Companies

Map Courtesy from: http://photos.mongabay.com/06/causes-of-amazon-deforestation.jpg

Brazilian cattle companies have made tremendous progress in mapping their supply-chains in the Amazon, however they are slacking on their promise of zero deforestation in the region. The cattle companies signed the agreement last October. Under the agreement the companies were to register and map all ranches supplying cattle from the Amazon directly to slaughterhouses by April 1, 2010. This would make it possible to assure consumers that cattle products were not the result of deforestation. The major companies, Marfrig and Minerva, failed to the terms, and both requested a 3 month extension. The companies have agreed to map and register their indirect suppliers by November 2011.

According to Greenpeace, the deforestation for cattle ranching is still occurring. They state, from October 2009 to January 2010, 140 kilometers of forest have been destroyed in slaughterhouse areas.

"Cattle ranching is the biggest driver of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. In recent years cattle pasture has been the fate of about 80 percent of deforested land, making ranching the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil. Brazil is now the world's largest producer and exporter of beef. Its herd in the Amazon is nearly the size of the entire U.S. herd", Rhett Butler, mongabay.com said.

James Cameron visits Manaus

Photo Courtesy: http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/James_Cameron_2.jpg

American film director, James Cameron took a trip down to Manaus recently to take a deeper look into the Belo Monte hydro electric dam project. Cameron is concerned for the people living near the dam, he says it will end their way of life. He is trying to get the Brazilian government to reconsider the project.

After tacking the problem of environmental destruction in Avatar, Cameron is now adding his own voice to the cause of the rain forest preservation. Belo Monte would be damaging to the environment; if constructed, the project would divert 80 percent of the flow of the Xingu River drying up the lifeline of tens of thousands of people who depend on the local water supply. Despite widespread opposition, the Brazilian authorities recently approved Belo Monte's environmental license and consortiums will bid on the project in April.