It is hoped that the fund will raise up to 21 billion dollars over the next 13 years from nations around the world. Norway has already chipped in, pledging 100 million dollars to kick things off. Brazil has made it clear though that donations are only being accepted with a condition of no strings being attached. In other words, countries that donate money will have no say over how the money is used.
Between May 2000 and August 2006, Brazil lost nearly 150,000 square kilometers of
forest—an area larger than Greece—and since 1970, over 600,000 square kilometers (232,000 square miles) of Amazon rainforest have been destroyed. Why is Brazil losing so much forest? What can be done to slow deforestation?
n many tropical countries, the majority of deforestation results from the actions of poor subsistence cultivators. However, in Brazil only about one-third of recent deforestation can be linked to "shifted" cultivators
During heavy rains the excess pesticide runs off the land and flows into the rivers. Time will tell what effect these toxic chemicals will have on the wildlife of the river
"Amazon Rainforest Unique places of interest
There are several places to go in the Amazon rainforest; it would probably be difficult to know all of them. A good start is visiting the Brazilian national parks in the region, most of them don't have much infrastructure for tourists but this is quickly being developed and you should find very good conditions by the end of 2005."
The vision of the Amazon Region Protected Areas Project (ARPA) is to create a mosaic of protected areas around productive landscapes to maintain the ecological integrity of the region over the long term. The project aims to add 28 million hectares in new protected areas (PAs) in the Brazilian Amazon over the next 10 years, while helping to consolidate the existing protected areas system. This will result in a total of 50 million hectares of Amazon forested ecosystems under protection and sustainable use, an area the size of Spain.
The Brazilian Congress, influenced by the agribusiness sector, seeks to change the Forest Code in Brazil to open more of the Amazon rainforest to be cleared. Not only will this destroy forested areas in the Amazon no longer protected by the Forest Code, but the clearing and burning of these lands will release millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere—making the impacts of climate change much worse.