BRASILIA (AFP) — A group of Greenpeace activists gave Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a fireman's outfit Wednesday in a symbolic request asking him to do more to combat forest fires in the Amazon.
The members of the environmental organization had to leave the suit with security after being prevented from walking into Lula's presidential palace to hand it to him personally.
They also left three other fireman's suits for Lula's cabinet chief-of-staff and the agriculture and transport ministers.
"Fires cause are the most aggressive and devastating destruction of the forest," one Greenpeace activist, Marcio Astrini, told reporters.
He explained that farmers and cattle ranchers in the Amazon used fire to clear the land for their activities, contributing to deforestation of the protected region.
Brazil's environment ministry estimates that in the 12 months to July, 12,000 square kilometers (4,600 square miles) of the Amazon were cleared, mainly by ranchers and soya farmers. That was an increase over the 11,200 square kilometers recorded in the previous 12 months.
Brazil is considered the fourth biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, and 75 percent of them come from deforestation.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
