By Saulo Araujo, www.grassrootsinternational.org
RIO DE JANIRO, 18 November 2008: Rede Social, a partner of the international net work Grassroots International, and longtime ally of the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) released an 80-page report on the expansion of sugar cane plantations for agro-fuels in the Amazon and Central Plateau region of Brazil.
The document analyzes the social and environmental impacts of agro-fuel expansion and shows a detailed picture of the situation in 11 states. The report outlines how large industrial plantations of soy beans, sugar cane and palm oil for the production of a “greener” fuel are leading to the rapid deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, and Indonesia’s rainforest.
The Via Campesina, an international movement of more than 150 million peasants and indigenous peoples worldwide, has denounced the replacement of crops for people with agro-fuels that only feed cars, leaving more rural families around the world hungry. Currently a portion of the report is available in English (see article below), with the remainder expected to be available soon.
Rede Social and CPT will present their report Agro-fuels as Barrier to the Building of the Food and Energy Sovereignty during an international event organized by Via Campesina – Brazil and its local partners. The Via Campesina’s gathering is a parallel event to the International Conference “Bio-fuels as Vector to the Sustainable Development” sponsored by the Brazilian government to promote its ethanol program.
