Amazon rainforest gains new protection
Vast areas of Brazil rainforest are to get a new protected status. Segments of land in the northern Para state together cover just over 15 million hectares, an area of land that is bigger than England.
Campaigners say the decision made by Para Governor Mr. Simao Jatene is one of the most important conservation initiatives this decade. It will protect the land from unsustainable logging and agriculture practices that have damaged large areas of the Amazon.
In total seven areas will gain new protection, and they will link with existing reserves to form a huge conservation corridor.
Since 1970, more than 230,000 sq miles of Amazon rainforest - an area larger than France - is said to have been destroyed.
Conservation International said continued deforestation at this rate would place the entire region in peril by 2050, and place increasing pressure on the planet because greenhouse gasses being pumped into the atmosphere would no longer be absorbed by the trees.
7th December 2006
