The president of Brazil has announced that the “era of mega-development is a thing of the past” to the National Amazon Council. The Amazon basin makes up 57 per cent of Brazil. Developers are calling for the legalization of gold mining and a plan for the exploitation of the basin’s forestry potential. The basin is also threatened by hydro-electric dams. Human-rights advocates say that some 2,000 of the indigenous Yanomami people have been killed by outsiders because of the mineral-rich lands they inhabit in the area.
The Brazilian president said development projects must follow new ecological and economic guidelines.
