Source: allvoices
A powerful coalition in a predominantly Catholic country has weighed in on the side of environmentalists. Brazil's Catholic Church joined the chorus of those opposed to a controversial 'Forest Code' revamping before the country's legislature. It has passed one of the two assembles, but must pass through the nation's Senate body.The current bill would significantly alter some of the current rules that protect the Amazon. The bill grants amnesty to illegal deforestation that occurred before July 2008 and shifts control over preservation management from the federal level to the state level.
Proponents claim that the bill helps small landowners, erasing existing violations and allowing them to make a profit from their lands. The amnesty provision changes the way that land set aside for preservation is calculated.
Opponents assert that the shift of calculation is an underhanded way to give a greenlight to developers and loggers, who have huge commercial interests and no concern about the Amazon Rainforest.
Last Friday, Brazil's Catholic Church began a drive to circulate a petition among its 12,000 parishes to rebuff the attempt to alter the current law.
"Our main concern is the impact and consequences of a law of this size on people's lives and the environment," the church said in a statement. "We urge our communities to participate in the process of reform of the Forest Code, mobilizing social forces and promoting a petition against the devastation."
