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BRAZIL'S FORESTS: GOOD AND SAD NEWS

Contrary to what might be expected, the sad news comes from the Mata Atlantica (top photo).

Mongabay reports: 270,000 hectares of the Mata Atlântica, Brazil's most threatened ecosystem, was cleared between 2002 and 2008, reports a new assessment by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Natural Resources (IBAMA), Brazil's environmental regulator. Less than 8 percent of the Atlantic forest—famed for its biodiversity—remains. Read more...

And the good news comes from the heartland of agricultural replacement of the forest (lower photo).

Mongabay reports: Banco do Brasil, Brazil's largest state-owned bank, announced it has joined a zero deforestation pact for soy grown in the Amazon. The bank will now require farmers applying for credit to certify the origin of their soybeans.

The move by Banco do Brasil, which supplies much of the credit to farmers in the Amazon, strengthens the moratorium. The bank says it will also require properties to be certified before it extends credit to fund reforestation projects to bring properties up to the country's forest code, which requires landowners in the Amazon to maintain 80 percent forest cover. The move effectively forces landowners to meet certification criteria, including having an environmental plan in place, in order to be compliant with the law. Read more...