Brazil’s president revokes decree allowing mining in Amazon

Brazilian President Michel Temer has yield to global pressure from environmentalists, artists and a number of NGOs and revoked Tuesday a controversial decree that would have opened up a vast national reserve in the country’s Amazon, larger than the size of Switzerland, to mining.

The order, published in the government’s gazette, also keeps the protected status of the National Reserve of Copper and Associates (Renca), which straddles the northern states of Amapa and Pará.

The area, covering 46,000 sq. km (17,800 sq. miles), is thought to be rich in gold, iron ore, copper and other minerals. According to Temer, the exploitation of those riches could have helped Brazil speed up its recovery from its worst recession on record, local O’Globo reports (in Portuguese).

More to come…

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