Brasília, October 21, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Non-governmental organizations decided to manifest their frustration over measures adopted by the government in the environmental area. On Monday (20), the country's major environmental networks sent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a letter in which they let off steam and expressed indignation over the decisions that have been adopted in the sector. The document is signed by 500 NGO's, among them, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth - Brazilian Amazon, the SOS Atlantic Rain Forest Foundation, and the Pro-Nature Foundation (Funatura).

According to the NGO Friends of the Earth, the letter expresses a refusal to accept decisions that place the country's sustainability at risk and highlights the inclusion in the 2004-2007 Pluriannual Plan (PPA) of infrastructure projects with a strong potential for worsening the situation of deforestation and land concentration in the Amazon. Another criticism made by these organizations refers to the authorization for planting transgenics.

In the letter, the NGO's affirm that "the measures contradict the government's program, weaken the socio-environmental policies and the transversal guideline proposed by the Minister of Environment, Marina Silva, and lead to the erosion of the government's image and credibility before national and world públic opinion."

According to Friends of the Earth, the NGO's ask the Presidency to adopt an emergency agenda, with concrete steps, to reverse decisions that have a great impact on environmental sustainability, such as respect for the principle of precaution, compliance with environmental legislation, combatting deforestation, and strengthening the Ministry of Environment. (DAS)