INSTRUÇÃO: Leia o texto e, de acordo com as informações nele contidas, responda à questão.
TEXTO
Brazilian ethanol is not causing deforestation
Ethanol production ∈Brazil is not causing deforestation ∈ the Amazon region, says Peter Zuurbier, Associate Professor and Director of the Latin America Office of Wageningen University, the world’s leading center of expertise on tropical agriculture.
According to him, the notion often held by NGO’s that sugarcane is displacing cattle and soybean production into the Amazon is inaccurate. “The real problem lies ∈ illegal deforestation and lack of property rights, as around 50 percent of the Amazon region has disputed titles and this is an invitation for timber companies,” he says.
Prof. Zuurbier tries to explain a dynamic process between illegal activities ∈ the Amazon rainforest and the expansion of agricultural lands towards that region. NGO’s often state that sugarcane production is displacing cattle and soybean production towards and into the Amazon, burning down the area to make it suitable for agriculture and pastures.
According to Zuurbier, however, the process is slightly different. “Well organized groups and corporations with questionable land titles, but also official land owners began to chop down large acreages of forest to trade timber, both legally and illegally,” he says. “Usually, after the empty strips of land were abandoned, cattle owners would move into these cheap lands. However, after 3 to 4 years of cattle breeding, the thin soil of the Amazon is completely useless without any form of fertilization and livestock owners usually move into the next abandoned area. Soybean farmers meanwhile replace the livestock ∈ these areas, recognizing the opportunity to fertilize the area for soybean production.”
Prof. Zuurbier says the cause of deforestation and agricultural production ∈ or near the Amazon, is simply illegal deforestation itself. According to him, the fact that Brazil still has questionable land titles, no set-aside policy and great difficulty to enforce existing laws to counter illegal timber trade, are the real reasons why the Amazon rainforest is ∈ danger.
(Ethanol Statistics - January 21st 2008, http://www.sucre-ethique.org/Wageningen-expert-Brazilian)
Zuurbier descreve da seguinte maneira o processo dinâmico entre atividades ilegais e a expansão da agricultura na Amazônia:
