To Congressmen and Senators: The Project of Law (PL) 6424/2005 bill is pending approval in the Brazilian Congress. If approved, it will be a lethal blow to all Brazilian forests, especially the Amazon. Also known as “Zero Forest”, the bill reduces the so-called Legal Reserve (RL, in Portuguese) from 80% to 50% – Legal Reserve is the area found inside private properties in the Amazon with original vegetation which must be conserved and can only be used for forest management activities. It took Brazil 450 years to virtually destroy a whole Mata Atlântica Rainforest, which originally covered over 1 million square kilometers throughout most of the Brazilian coastal region, going from the state of Parana to Rio Grande do Norte. Unfortunately, it seems we have learned nothing from this destruction. The speed of destruction in the Amazon is almost ten times higher than that. We have already lost more than 700,000 square kilometers of the Amazon rainforest in almost 40 years, the equivalent of three times the area of the state of São Paulo. If the “Zero Forest” bill passes at the Brazilian Congress, the devastation will take on an even more destructive pace. The “Zero Forest” bill encourages deforestation and allows thousands of environmental crimes to go unpunished. The Amazon basin covers 5% of the planet’s surface and hosts the largest biodiversity in the world. Brazil is currently the fourth largest climate polluter due to the destruction of our forests. 75% of Brazilian greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation and land use, mainly in the Amazon. The destruction of the Amazon rainforest impacts the Brazilian social and economical context. The rain produced in the Amazon is important not only for the region, but also for the rest of the country. It helps generate power, produce food and supply water for the Center, Southeast and South regions of Brazil. Also, deforestation is devasting to social development for more than 22 million people who live in the Amazon. About 85% of Brazilian slave workers are found in deforested areas of the Amazon region. Instead of strengthening environmental protection and adopting effective measures to stop deforestation, the Brazilian Congress is actually turning its back on the Amazon and welcoming the destruction. Environmentally-concerned citisens worldwide, join the Brazilian people and demand an end to Amazon deforestation. Defend the our ancient forests. Tell the Brazilian Congress to say no to PL 6424/2005.                                   I would like to receive information about Greenpeace Brazil.