Greenpeace has Welcomed the Extension of the Amazon Soy Moratorium

Greenpeace has welcomed the decision to extend by one year the Amazon soy moratorium. The announcement was made at a press conference in Brasilia by the soy traders association (ABIOVE), together with Brazil’s new Environment Minister Carlos Minc, Greenpeace and other non governmental organizations (NGOs).

The moratorium, which prohibits the purchase of soy from newly deforested areas in the Amazon, or from farmers using indentured or forced laborers, was the direct result of a Greenpeace investigation documented in the 2006 report “Eating up the Amazon” and the subsequent campaign. The moratorium will now run until July 2009.

Several soy producers used rising agricultural commodity prices and global demand for grain to pressure ABIOVE and traders not to extend the moratorium. “The decision to extend the moratorium against the backdrop of rising commodity prices and the food crises shows that government and industry now understand that it is possible to protect the forest, combat climate change and still ensure food production,” said Lindsey Allen, forest campaigner for Greenpeace.

Greenpeace, together with other NGOs, will continue to help ABIOVE to bring effective governance to the soy industry in the Amazon. Greenpeace warns however, that a one-year extension may not be long enough to build the tools necessary to ensure that soy production does not result in further deforestation.

An alliance of soy consumer companies, led by McDonalds, Marks & Spencer and Carrefour also welcomed the extension decision and, in a joint statement, renewed its commitment to remaining actively engaged. In Brazil, the companies Wal-Mart, Sadia and Yoki also supported the statement.

The direct involvement of the Brazilian government is key to providing the framework essential for farmers to comply with the law, Allen said.

Tropical forest destruction is responsible for nearly one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, second only to the energy sector. Seventy-five percent of Brazil’s emissions come from forest destruction, making it the world’s fourth largest greenhouse gas emitter.

Source: Greenpeace

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