Environmental groups condemn new laws threatening soybean restrictions in Brazil's Amazon

BRASILIA, Brazil — Dozens of environmental nonprofits issued a manifesto Thursday condemning new laws in Brazilian states that threaten to dismantle the Amazon soy moratorium — a landmark voluntary agreement banning trade in soybeans from recently deforested areas.

The 18-year-old moratorium stipulates that traders and oil producers refrain from buying soybeans grown on land cleared after 2008. The deal gathered strange bedfellows, ranging from environmental groups Greenpeace and WWF to U.S. commodity giants Cargill, Bunge and ADM.

However, new laws recently enacted in the Amazon states of Mato Grosso, Brazil’s largest soybean producer, and neighboring Rondonia have cut tax incentives for processing and trade companies that adhere to the agreement. Two other states and Brazil´s Congress are weighing similar legislation.

“This means penalizing companies committed to ending deforestation, promoting the continued expansion of agribusiness in Amazon forest areas, creating subsidies for deforestation and discriminating against the granting of tax incentives based on companies’ environmental commitment," Thursday's declaration stated.

"Therefore, those who are more ambitious in environmental protection lose the incentive,” said the manifesto whose 67 signers include Greenpeace, WWF and Climate Observatory, a network of 119 organizations watching federal climate policy in Brazil.

The document argues soybean production grew exponentially in the Amazon under the moratorium as it expanded into pasture land. Its area jumped from 1.6 million hectares (4 million acres) in 2007 to 7.28 million hectares (18 million acres) in 2022, according to a moratorium report.

The manifesto also calls for the companies that operate in Mato Grosso and Rondonia to maintain their commitment to the agreement even though it means losing millions of dollars in tax incentives — a tough decision for small and middle-sized companies.

Researchers have found the moratorium is helping to preserve the Amazon forest. A 2020 study in the journal Nature Food found that the agreement, in combination with public policies, contributed to the steepest reduction of deforestation recorded in Brazil, between 2003 and 2016

In a written response, the government of Mato Grosso said it enacted the law because the moratorium is harsher than Brazil´s legislation, which already has “the world’s strictest environmental regulations.” It also stated that most of the state is covered by original rainforest trees and plants.

“We challenge these nonprofits to name any state, in any country, that is a major food producer and preserves 60% of its territory,” the statement said.

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