Brazil unable to curb Amazon destruction: enviros

By Raymond Colitt

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's government is unwilling and unable to halt destruction in the Amazon rainforest despite emergency measures it announced last week to curb rising deforestation, environmental experts say.

High commodity prices and increased land use elsewhere in Brazil are driving ranchers and farmers deeper into the Amazon in search of cheap land, environmentalists say.

Between August and December last year, 7,000 square km (2,703 square miles), or two-thirds the annual rate, were chopped down.

In response, the government of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva banned logging and cut farm credits in the 36 municipalities with the highest deforestation rate. It also said it would ban farm products from illegally deforested areas and would register property deeds to prevent land theft.

"We are convinced if we play all our cards we can reduce deforestation in 2008 as well," Environment Minister Marina Silva said.

In the two years through July 2007, the rate had fallen by 50 percent.

But environmentalists said the measures were half-hearted and insufficient and some could even increase deforestation.

"It's a positive first step, but only a drop in the ocean," said Paulo Moutinho, coordinator at the Environmental Research Institute of the Amazon.