The government will start auctioning off timber rights to large tracts of the rainforest; winning bidders will not have title to the land or the right to exploit resources other than timber, will be closely policed and pay a royalty on their activities.
The plan is designed to help reduce tensions over land ownership in the Amazon. A new Forest Service, with 150 employees, will monitor the loggers, along with state and municipal governments.
This has concerned environmental and civic groups because local officials are said to be more vulnerable to corruption. The system also relies on the world market buying timber from merchants who are properly licensed.
Stephan Schwartzman, an Amazon specialist at Washington-based Environmental Defence, said the system was an improvement.
But, he added, “everything is going to depend on how it is done and whether the financial and human resources are there to make it work”.
