VZCZCXRO5344
RR RUEHAST RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHTM RUEHTRO
DE RUEHBR #0244/01 0581836
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271836Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3650
INFO RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 3602
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 7320
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 9134
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 000244 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR OES/PCI - L.SPERLING 
DEPT FOR OES/ENCR - C.KARR-COLQUE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EINV EAGR KSCA BR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL: TWO NEW PRAGMATIC STEPS TO ADDRESS ILLEGAL AMAZON 
DEFORESTATION 
 
REF: BRASILIA 123 
 
BRASILIA 00000244  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
(U) THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED AND NOT FOR INTERNET 
DISTRIBUTION. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  The Government of Brazil (GOB) plans to take two 
steps - each quite pragmatic - to address the serious problem of 
settlers illegally clearing the Amazon Forest and the challenge of 
settlers occupying public land in the Amazon:  The first measure - 
currently a proposal - would reduce mandatory reforestation of 
illegally cleared land along two major highways.  The second, a 
provisional measure (No. 458), establishes a program to grant legal 
title to occupiers of small and medium plots of public land.  These 
measures could be an important start in transforming the Amazon from 
a region where the vast majority of farmers are currently without 
legal title and/or are in violation of the environmental code.  In 
this way, the GOB can concentrate on the more predatory practices 
and actors who threaten the standing forest, rather than settling 
scores with the majority of farmers working land cleared years ago 
and not likely to ever return to forest.  END SUMMARY. 
 
GREATER REALISM ABOUT PROSPECTS FOR REFORESTATION 
 
¶2.  (SBU) After months of disagreement among government officials, 
including Agriculture Minister Reinhold Stephanes and Environment 
Minister Carlos Minc (REFTEL), a committee made up of 
representatives from 13 ministries  unanimously approved a proposal 
to change the rules concerning reforestation along two of the Amazon 
region's main highways (BR-163 and BR-230).  This proposal would 
reduce the areas protected known as the legal reserve (in which 
native forests must be conserved or reforested if previously 
cleared). 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The proposal would apply to those farmers along these two 
roads who have cleared more than 20% of the native forest on a plot 
of land and so violated the current 80% legal reserve requirement. 
In such cases, those who have deforested too much will no longer 
have to reforest up to the 80% level, but instead just up to the 50% 
level.  Under this proposal, approximately 700,000 total hectares 
will no longer need to be reforested with native trees and can be 
used instead for agricultural purposes.  The total area affected by 
the change could potentially reach approximately ten million 
hectares.  The proposal now goes to the National Environmental 
Council (CONAMA) for consideration and approval.  The final step is 
for the proposal to be presented to President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da 
Silva for his approval, so that it can be promulgated as a 
Presidential Decree.  CONAMA should have its final response by the 
end of March. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The proposal has drawn mixed reactions.  Greenpeace 
Brazil's representatives have condemned the proposal stating that 
"it legitimizes environmental crime."  The Ministry of Environment 
has responded that the change is the only way to shift from the 
current predatory model to a sustainable one.  "We are giving more 
opportunities for farmers to comply with environmental rules," said 
Roberto Vizentin, Director of Land Zoning at the Ministry of 
Environment. 
 
STARTING TO UNTANGLE THE AMAZON LAND TITLE MESS 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In another action intended to address deforestation in the 
Amazon region, President Lula on February 10 signed Provisional 
Measure No. 458 for the resolution of land title issues in the 
Amazon.  This measure creates the Federal program called "Terra 
Legal" (Legal Land), which will be managed by the Ministry of 
Agrarian Reform (MDA).  The MDA takes over responsibility for land 
title registry in the Amazon from the National Land Resettlement 
Agency (INCRA), which has had a very poor record in this area (See 
REFTEL).   Under this measure, MDA will assume responsibility for 
land title registration in the Legal Amazon region, which represents 
a total of nine states and 436 municipalities.  It is expected that 
approximately 297,000 titles will be issued and titles for 67 
million hectares of land will be legalized.  MDA expects to finish 
the process in a three-year time span. 
¶6.  (SBU) The program only applies to individuals who have occupied 
public land (other than those included in protected areas or 
indigenous reserves) prior to December 1, 2004.  Farmers occupying 
plots up to 100 hectares in size will have the title granted free of 
charge.  A flexible criterion will be used for plots between 100 and 
400 hectares in area, whereby the title will either be donated or 
sold to the occupier at a price set by MDA.  If sold, the land 
occupier will receive a three-year grace period before paying off 
the purchase price over a period as long as twenty years.  For plots 
 
BRASILIA 00000244  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
from 400 to 1,500 hectares in area, MDA will sell them to the 
current occupiers at the market price, with payments stretched out 
over a 20-year period.  For plots between 1,500 and 2,500 hectares, 
the occupier can opt to claim a part of the plot up to 1,500 
hectares or compete for the whole plot at public auction.  Plots 
over 2,500 hectares in area will remain with the GOB, which may or 
may not decide to hold a public auction.  Also, the occupier cannot 
sell or transfer title to another person for a ten-year period. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) All properties will have to comply with the environmental 
laws at the time of transfer and thereafter.  A key requirement will 
be compliance with the requirement to preserve 80% of most lands in 
the Amazon Region as a legal reserve for native forests. 
Environment Minister Minc said that this program is not just land 
registering, but is "environmental land registering."  Minc 
emphasizes the part of the measure that says that if the Forest Code 
is not respected, the occupier of the land will automatically lose 
title.  Occupiers will only receive their land title after they have 
complied with their environmental responsibilities, including the 
legal reserve requirement.  Any indigenous lands, national forests 
or protected areas that were illegally-invaded will be taken back by 
the government.  The new measure also guarantees that all the 
registered titles will be electronically monitored to verify whether 
or not the legislation is being followed. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The first actions have already been taken by MDA to start 
this program.  Representatives from the MDA are meeting with the 
governors of each of the nine states in order to establish the 
actions that will be taken to register the land titles.  For the 
state of Para, the state with the most ongoing deforestation, a 
specific state office for the program will handle this program.  The 
GOB estimates that the public auction process for these Amazon land 
titles could generate up to USD30 billion over time. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) COMMENT.  IMAZON, a respected NGO, estimates that 53% of 
the land in the Amazon Region lacks clear title.  Straightening out 
land title in the region is widely viewed as a prerequisite for 
addressing the deforestation problem.  However, IMAZON criticizes 
Provisional Measure No. 458 because it rewards farmers with grants 
of small, illegally occupied plots rather than encouraging them to 
make use of already cleared and now abandoned lands in the Amazon 
Region.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) COMMENT:  These two measures signal a more practical 
approach to addressing the underlying problems in the Amazon, where 
a majority of the farmers are occupying public land and/or have 
cleared more than the 20% of their land permitted by the Forest 
Code.  The first measure should create an incentive for farmers 
along two major highways to at least keep a 50% legal reserve, which 
is certainly easier to comply with than an 80% reserve.  The second 
provides a trade off, the pre-2004 occupiers will receive title to 
the land, but now must meet the Forest Code requirements.  Land 
title registration has been a historical problem in the Amazon 
Region.  The GOB shows a new flexibility and willingness to solve 
the problem.  Both these measures will require better monitoring and 
enforcement of environmental rules to make a significant change in 
the culture of predatory practices.  The government's weak 
monitoring and enforcement to date has given farmers in the Amazon 
Region little reason to care whether they have legal title or are 
complying with environmental rules.  END COMMENT. 
 
SOBEL