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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Brazil’s leader creates rainforest reserves

Michael Astor Associated Press

ANAPU, Brazil – Brazil’s president signed decrees Thursday creating two massive new forest reserves, succumbing to intense pressure to protect a lawless Amazon region from violent loggers and ranchers after the killing last weekend of an American nun who fought to protect the jungle.

The measures signed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will form a reserve of 8.15 million acres and a national park spanning 1.1 million acres in the state of Para, where 73-year-old Dorothy Stang was shot to death Saturday in a dispute with a powerful rancher.

“We can’t give in to people committing acts of violence,” said Environment Minister Marina Silva, who announced the decrees. “The government is putting the brakes on in front of the predators.”

The decrees were announced after more than 60 groups signed a letter to the president demanding strong moves to curb “violence and impunity associated with the illegal occupation of lands and deforestation” in the Amazon.