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蓄養牲畜 而非種植大豆 才是導致亞馬遜毀林主因 報告
新聞來源: 路透社 日期: 20090414 作者:Peter Cooney http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN14290980
巴西（路透社） -正值巴西出口商的環境紀錄日益受到國際仔細檢驗時，週二一份報告顯示，砍伐亞馬遜森林，養牛牧場主人的罪行遠大於大豆農民。這項由環保團體和大豆產業共同製作的研究指出，自2006年7月起抽查的630個伐林區域樣本裡只有12個，0.88%或157896公頃（三十九萬英畝）是種植大豆。相較之下，卻有將近200個伐林區被轉換成牧牛場，其餘區域則尚未使用。
此研究報告的贊助團體之一－－綠色和平組織亞馬遜計畫協調員保羅 ·阿達離歐說：「摧毀亞馬遜的首惡是畜牧業!」。雖然毀林率數年前已急遽下降，且數據顯示最近10個月已下降更多，這個世界上最大的熱帶雨林每年仍有國家大小般的土地被摧毀。
除了伐木者、牧場主人和小自耕農外，大型農場經營者常被指責是促成毀林的始作甬者，由於近幾年國外對食品強勁的需求，巴西農場的疆域已不斷擴大。巴西是世界上最大的牛肉出口國和第二大大豆出口國，大部分商品由中國收購。阿達離歐說砍伐的規模近幾年持續在下降。這表示需要廣大面積提高產值的大豆農民，不再參與清除森林。
大豆協定
去年出口額一百八十億美元的巴西大豆產業，在2006年7月同意不再從砍伐的林地從事大豆貿易。該報告的作者們說，此協定有助於防止農民再去清除新的大面積森林。大豆產業協會會長卡羅洛瓦泰利評論道，「大豆對亞馬遜已不再是個巨大威脅」。美國和歐洲外國農產品的競爭對手經常批評巴西的出口品，如糖和牛肉，促成毀林。
洛瓦泰利承認該協定尚未涵蓋巴西大豆產量的10%，而其執行的管控機制也不足。當被問及在非法砍伐土地上種植大豆的小自耕農會怎麼做，洛瓦泰利說：「他們會直接跟中國貿易商進行交易。」
一些環境經濟學家說，種植大豆擴張農地，已取代牧牛場深入亞馬遜，為了尋找更便宜的土地而進行毀林。
儘管如此，環境部長卡洛斯 ·明茨認為此協議是個好的開始。
「這是一個可供其他部門追隨的模式」，明茨補充說他是期望牛肉業能有類似的協定。
巴西政府在去年放棄了反對多年伐林目標的立場，設定到七月的一年內將森林砍伐從年前的11,900平方公里降到約9500平方公里（3667平方英里）。
（彼得 ·庫尼所編輯）
Cattle, not soy, drives Amazon deforestation: report
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Cattle ranchers are far bigger culprits in Amazon deforestation than soy farmers, a study showed on Tuesday, as the environmental record of Brazil's commodity exporters comes under increasing international scrutiny.
The study, produced jointly by environmental groups and the soy industry, showed that only 12 of 630 sample areas deforested since July 2006 -- or 0.88 percent of 157,896 hectares (390,000 acres) -- were planted with soy.
By comparison, nearly 200 were converted into pasture land for cattle. The rest of the deforested areas had not yet been put to use.
"The big villain of Amazon destruction is cattle ranching," said Paulo Adario, Amazon campaign coordinator with Greenpeace, one of the groups that sponsored the report.
Each year country-sized chunks of the world's largest rain forest are devastated, although the rate has fallen sharply from a few years ago and preliminary data shows it fell further in the past 10 months.
In addition to loggers, ranchers and peasants, large-scale farmers are often blamed for contributing to the devastation as Brazil's agricultural frontier has expanded due to strong foreign demand for the country's commodities in recent years.
Brazil is the world's biggest beef exporter and the second-largest exporter of soy, much of which is bought by China.
Adario said the size of deforested plots had been falling consistently in recent years. That suggests that soy farmers, who require large areas to be efficient, were no longer involved directly in clearing forest.
SOY ACCORD
Brazil's soy industry, with exports of $18 billion last year, agreed in July 2006 not to trade soy from deforested areas.
That accord helped prevent farmers from clearing large, new areas, the authors of the report said.
"Soy is no longer a big threat to the Amazon," said Carlo Lovatelli, head of the soy industry association Abiove.
Foreign farm competitors in the United States and Europe often criticize Brazilian exports, such as sugar and beef, for contributing to deforestation.
Lovatelli acknowledged the accord did not cover about 10 percent of Brazil's soy output and that mechanisms to control its implementation were still inadequate.
Asked what would happen to a farmer who planted soy illegally on deforested land, Lovatelli said, "He'll sell to a Chinese trader on the spot market."
Some environmental economists say the expansion of soy has been to blame for deforestation by displacing cattle ranchers deeper into the Amazon in search of cheaper land.
Still, Environment Minister Carlos Minc said the accord was a good first step.
"It's a model for other sectors to follow," said Minc, adding he was eyeing a similar accord with the beef industry.
Brazil's government, which last year abandoned years of opposition to deforestation targets, aims to reduce deforestation in the 12 months through July to about 9,500 square km (3,667 square miles) from 11,900 square km (4,595 square miles) the year before.
(Editing by Peter Cooney)
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