So he sells to a middleman, who sells on to the big ranchers. But he says converting the forest to pasture is his only viable economic option.īecause Santos’ farm has been blacklisted by regulators, he cannot sell cattle directly to slaughterhouses. Gabriel Santos*, a small-time rancher from the Amacro zone, has been fined more than $130,000 (£96,000) for illegally clearing land in the reserve for grazing. Growing demand for Amazonian beef has tempted more local people to raise cattle as a viable livelihood for feeding their families, leading to a sharp increase in illegal deforestation. While ranchers like Veronez may avoid deforestation, their suppliers may not have the luxury to do so, says Valentim. Veronez, like most large ranchers, relies on a network of smaller producers, most of whom, according to Valentim, lack the technical and financial resources to invest in more efficient grazing practices. Judson Valentim, a researcher at Brazil’s agriculture research agency, says intensification is unlikely to change the system responsible for the breakneck pace of deforestation. It may be a flawed approach, concluded a University of California report in 2017, which noted, “the opposite could be true”. The idea that a shift to intensive ranching could cut deforestation in the Amazon is disputed by some researchers.
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“Amacro can contribute to the preservation of these areas,” he says.Īssuero Veronez, president of Acre’s Federation of Agriculture and Livestock and developer of the Amacro sustainable development zone. He claims to produce about 2.5 times the state average for beef. Veronez says more intensive cattle ranching will enable more beef to be produced on less land and protect against deforestation. He denied any wrongdoing and said he sold the property in 2002. Veronez, a ranch owner and president of Acre’s Federation of Agriculture and Livestock, was fined for illegal deforestation in 2006. If I had another means of survival, I would leave Gabriel Santos*, small-time rancherĪmacro is the brainchild of Assuero Doca Veronez, a powerful figure in Amazonian agribusiness, who told a Brazilian news site last year that “deforestation for us is synonymous with progress”. It is about “optimising what we already have without having to advance over the forest”, says Maciel, a Bolsonaro-allied appointee.īut Humberto de Aguiar, a federal prosecutor in Acre who handles environmental crimes, told the Guardian that the effect of the plan is such as “to legalise the deforestation already being done”. Edivan Maciel, the former agriculture secretary in the state of Acre, says the aim is to produce more beef on land that has already been cleared.
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Previous agricultural development projects have led to the loss of vast tracts of native vegetation in other parts of Brazil, but Amacro’s proponents promise it is being designed to prevent illegal deforestation. Greenpeace has identified the northern portion of the zone as an emerging deforestation hotspot. It encompasses the Mapinguari national park, Brazil’s fifth largest protected area, and the Kaxarari indigenous territory, where the tribe has struggled to defend its land against loggers.
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The Amacro zone – an acronym taken from the states it covers: Amazonas, Acre and Rondônia – is a vast 465,800 sq km (180,000 sq mile) region in north-west Brazil. The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, is expected to greenlight the project later this year. In May, government officials began fleshing out the details of the so-called Amacro sustainable development zone, which it is hoped will lead to a massive intensification of agriculture in the Amazon. But critics are concerned it could effectively legalise deforestation in the region. About 80% of deforestation in the region has been attributed to cattle ranching, tainting beef exports.īrazil’s beef industry hopes to tempt buyers back to the Amazon region, which covers about 40% of the country’s total area, with a new deforestation-free pledge. F or many, the overriding image of agriculture in the Amazon is one of environmental destruction.