But Silva said the government planned instead to propose changes before an August 8 deadline for presidential approval, and negotiate revised legislation with congress to find a compromise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI always believe in the power of dialogue,\u201d she said. \u201cSociety is highly mobilised to get the changes which will be made by the federal government [to the bill] accepted by congress.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silva\u2019s strategy is also an admission of the political reality. The law passed the lower house in mid-July by 267 votes to 116 \u2014 a majority of more than the two-thirds needed for legislators to override a presidential veto. Officials at her ministry admit it would be \u201cvery difficult\u201d to veto the entire bill.<\/p>\n
Greenpeace says \u201cthe bill opens the door to illegal expansion [of agribusiness], fuels forest destruction, and exacerbates the climate crisis\u201d, adding that it \u201ccould lead to a deforestation explosion\u201d.<\/p>\n
Indigenous communities are alarmed that environmental reserves that are in the process of being demarcated, a process that can last many years, would have their protection removed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the village of Sawr\u00e9 Muybu, in the Amazonian state of Par\u00e1, the bill\u2019s passage was met with dismay by Juarez Saw, cacique, or local leader, of the Munduruku people.<\/p>\n
The territory is in the process of being demarcated as an indigenous reserve, but locals complain of intrusions by unlicensed loggers and mercury contamination from illegal gold mining.<\/p>\n
\u201c[The law] is our biggest worry right now. We fear it will facilitate more invasions and companies entering the territory,\u201d said Saw. \u201cThis thinking will end the Amazon,\u201d he added. \u201cThe people there in Congress are blind.\u201d<\/p>\n
The law has also fuelled criticisms of Lula\u2019s administration by environmental activists for increasing domestic fossil fuel extraction at the same time as the country is seeking to play a global climate leadership role.<\/p>\n
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Environment minister Marina Silva: \u2018The world today doesn\u2019t need less environmental protection; it needs more protection\u2019 \u00a9 Bloomberg<\/p>\n
But Silva argued that those hoping that projects such as oil drilling in the mouth of the Amazon river basin could now speed ahead without environmental assessment were mistaken.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to my understanding this is an illusion because it has no legal basis and would be challenged in court,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The same applied to the paving of the BR-319, a 1970s-era dirt highway running south-west from Manaus through the rainforest towards the border with Bolivia. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a belief among some that the BR-319 could avoid environmental licensing which\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009has no legal basis because it\u2019s a high impact project which will need very rigorous governance and state presence,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Silva aims to convince legislators that inviting legal challenges is not in the interests of those pushing for easier approvals.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The minister noted the Amazon, the world\u2019s largest remaining rainforest, was already suffering from the effects of climate change. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor the first time, deforestation due to fire was greater than deforestation through clear cutting,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are succeeding\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009in containing the cutting down of forest but we aren\u2019t managing to deal with the consequences of higher temperatures which are leading the forest to lose humidity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silva has resigned before from a Lula government, stepping down in 2008 after complaining of the difficulty of implementing a green agenda. <\/p>\n
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