2009/9/18 日本経済新聞
ブラジルでサトウキビ栽培禁止法案 アマゾン森林保護狙う
ブラジル政府は17日、同国北部のアマゾン地域や南西部のパンタナル湿原などで新たなサトウキビ栽培を禁止する法案を議会に提出 した。全国土の92.5％が対象になる。ブラジルでは石油代替燃料としてサトウキビを原料とするバイオエタノールの生産が拡大しているが、森林破壊につな がるとの批判も根強い。法律で明確に禁止することで批判を抑え、海外への普及を後押しする狙い。
法案では傾斜が12％を超える場所での栽培も禁止する。傾斜地では農機を使うことができず、収穫時に畑を焼く農法が一般的なため。規制対象になる土地では栽培のほか、砂糖やエタノール精製工場の建設も禁止される。ただ既存の栽培地などは継続利用できる。
ブラジルの現在のサトウキビ栽培面積は780万ヘクタールで国土の約１％。栽培が集中しているのは南東部のサンパウロ州や北東部。熱帯雨林や湿原はもともとサトウキビ栽培には向かず、法律が制定されても今後の生産拡大にはほとんど影響が無いとみられる。
世界日報
アマゾン森林保護で新規サトウキビ栽培禁止へ−ブラジル
ブラジルのカルロス・ミンキ環境相は17日、同国北部のアマゾン地域などを対象に、バイオエタノール向けの新規サトウキビ栽培を禁止する法案を発表した。今後、国会で法案通過を待って実効される。政府系ブラジル通信が報じた。
同法案の発表には、ルラ大統領やロウセフ官房長官らも出席、法案を発表したミンキ環境相は「（同法で）ブラジルのエタノールは１００％環境に優しいことを証明できる」と言明、バイオエタノール開発と環境保護の両立に向けたブラジル政府の姿勢を強く打ち出した。
法案が通過すれば、エタノール向けサトウキビ栽培は、同国南西部の世界遺産パンタナール大湿原に加えて、現在食料用穀物が生産されている地域とその周辺でも禁止されることになる。この結果、サトウキビの新規栽培が可能な国土はブラジル全土の約 7.5％の地域に限定される。
ブラジルは、バイオエタノールの生産では米国に次ぐ２位、輸出では世界１位で、近年はバイオエタノール生産技術をアフリカ諸国に伝えるなど、同燃料の開発と普及に力を注いでいる。
一方で、環境保護団体などは「エタノール生産は環境に優しくない」「生産拡大は環境破壊につながる」などと批判しており、今回の発表はアマゾン地域を中心とする自然保護の姿勢を打ち出して、バイオエタノール生産に関する批判を退ける役割もありそうだ。
ブラジルでは、アマゾン森林保護など環境保護に積極的な姿勢を打ち出してきたマリナ・シルバ元環境相が昨年５月、政権内の開発保護派と衝突して辞任した経緯があり、その後就任したロベルト・アンガー国家戦略相が「持続可能な開発」をルラ政権の方向性として打ち出している。
今回、ブラジル政府は意欲的な法案を打ち出してきたが、アマゾン地域での生産が拡大しているのはサトウキビよりも大豆など他の穀物が中心。今後、ブラジル政府がアマゾン地域の環境保護に向けてどのような政策を打ち出してくるか注目される。
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2009/9/17
Brazil Increases Environmental Preservation Measures With Sugarcane Zoning Proposal
New bill will make indigenous lands - including the Amazon, Pantanal, and Upper Paraguay River Basin regions - off-limits for sugarcane industry expansion
In an unprecedented initiative, Brazil today proposed a new bill of law that will restrict the lands permissible for sugarcane farming and processing. If passed, the bill sent today to the National Congress by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will prohibit the construction or expansion of sugarcane farms and production plants in any area of native vegetation, or in the Amazon, Pantanal (Brazilian Wetlands) or Upper Paraguay River Basin regions. Coupled with the areas not suitable for sugarcane farming, the bill would effectively make 92.5% of Brazil's national territory off-limits for sugarcane farming and processing. In addition to the sugarcane zoning mandates, the new bill includes a measure to end the practice of crop burning by 2017 in all areas suitable for mechanized harvesting.
"Environmental preservation is a top priority of the Brazilian government," said Celso Manzato, chief of the Environment unit of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa). "Sugarcane is an integral crop for Brazil's domestic food supply, renewable energy market, and our national exports, and therefore there is great demand for growth. These measures have been proposed to ensure that sustainable development models are in place to promote the responsible development of this industry."
Brazil's sugarcane harvests are used to produce food products as well as sugarcane-based ethanol, a biofuel alternative to gasoline. The proposal is timely, given that ethanol consumption surpassed that of gasoline in light vehicles in Brazil this year. Brazil has the largest fleet of flex-fuel cars in the world. Brazil is also currently the world's largest producer and exporter of sugarcane, using only 1% of its national land area.
The newly proposed bill is based upon the findings of the National Agro- Ecological Zoning for Sugarcane (ZAE Cana) study, which defined lands suitable for sugarcane production based on environmental, economic and social criteria. ZAE Cana is the largest crop survey in Brazil's history and the first ever to incorporate economic and social considerations into its proposed model for the sustainable development of the industry.
The ZAE Cana proposal addresses the need to regulate the expansion of sugarcane production in light of the growing global demand for food and biofuels. This proposal supports Brazil's goal to foster sustainable economic development and preserve its indigenous lands, its biodiversity, and its natural resources.
Protected Lands
The new bill would restrict the expansion of sugarcane production plants to regions that meet the following criteria: areas that do not require full irrigation, thus saving resources such as water and energy; and areas with slopes less than 12%, allowing for mechanized harvesting and preventing producers' clearance of ground by fire. In addition, credit extension policies will favor expansion into underused or degraded pasture land.
These rules are not applicable to industrial facilities already in operation.
These criteria leave 64 million total hectares eligible for sugarcane planting, equivalent to 7.5% of the national land area. Sugarcane crops currently occupy an area of 8.89 million hectares (2008 crop year).
Respect to Food Security
The proposed Bill of Law empowers the Ministry of Agriculture to direct the expansion of sugarcane production in order to prevent any risk to food production or food security.
Eradication of Ground Burning
In addition to regulating future sugarcane expansion, the federal government is proposing an end to burnings in existing production areas. The eradication will be enforced according to a transition schedule that ends burning by 2017 in 100% of areas suitable for mechanized harvesting. This measure will allow for the reduction of greenhouse gases by six million tons of CO2 equivalent.
The ZAE Cana will be presented as part of Brazil's platform to curb global climate change and promote environmentally sustainable development at the United Nations' 15th Conference of the Parties (COP-15) to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009.
For more information (in Portuguese) about ZAE Cana, please visit: www.cnps.embrapa.br
About SECOM:
The Secretariat for Social Communication (SECOM) of the Presidency of Brazil is responsible for coordinating the Public Relations activities for the government of Brazil.
SOURCE SECOM
Website: http://www.cnps.embrapa.br/