Brazil slows Amazon deforestation, but in Chico Mendes’ homeland, it risks being too late

By FABIANO MAISONNAVE
Associated Press

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Luzineide Marques da Silva knows the location of each of the 748 rubber trees in the Brazilian Amazon that she and her family have rights to tap for latex. That’s why she watched in pain and anger last week as two of them were badly damaged by a fire that she says was started by one of the land-grabbers encroaching on her territory. Silva says she felt as if she herself was “being murdered right there.” President Luiz Inacio de Silva has cut Amazon deforestation in half in the nine months since he returned to office. But progress has been uneven, and some deforestation is continuing. One problem is restocking understaffed environmental agencies.