From: Bridges Trade BioRes News Digest
In an effort to combat ‘biopiracy’ and regulate the Amazon rainforest’s occupation by foreigners, the Brazilian House of Representatives approved on 13 October a bill that restricts the purchase of land in the region by non-Brazilians.
The proposed legislation imposes two conditions for foreigners to acquire rural property in the Amazon region: the property must not exceed roughly 1500 hectares, and the potential purchaser must have lived in Brazil for at least ten years.
The legislation also includes a clause that requires purchased property to be productive so that it might fulfil its ‘social function’. Properties acquired before the law’s enactment - even those that exceed the 1500-hectare limit - might be kept, as long as the proprietors can prove the land’s productivity. For this, the government will conduct a survey of all foreign-owned properties in the region. If the latter measure is accomplished, it will mean a great step forward in the monitoring policy for the region.
In a strategic move, the bill also forbids the purchase of land in the Amazon region that borders other countries. The 150-kilometre area in question is critical for monitoring and controlling cross-border activities, especially the trafficking of genetic natural resources.
During a Parliamentary Investigation Commission on biopiracy, Parliamentarian José Genoíno showed his fellow lawmakers an advertisement from a Brazilian real estate agency that was aimed at foreigners. The ad offered large plots of land rich in mahogany, precious minerals, and animal fossils.
Brazil has long been concerned about the threat of bio-piracy - the illegal appropriation of indigenous knowledge about medicinal plants and other resources - but analysts say that previous efforts to regulate the issue have been insufficient. Many amendments and complementary bills have been put forward in the past ten years, but none has been turned into law.
The House-approved bill will now move to the Senate.