Brasília,4/22/2004 - Piracicaba (the name is Tupi-Guarani for "where the fish stop"), a city located in the state of São Paulo, founded in 1767, at a distance of 152 kilometers from the capital, with a population of 300,000, is the first City-Friend of the Amazon Rainforest. The local city government, together with Greenpeace, has drawn up some rainforest-friendly regulations, including strict rules for the use of lumber. Among other things, the city of Piracicaba now prohibits the use of mahogany, which comes from a tree threatened by extinction.

One of the coordinators of the "City-Friend" program, Gustavo Vieira, explains that the program decided to begin its work in the interior of the state of São Paulo because that is where "the biggest destroyers of the Amazon rainforest are." Vieira explains that 25% of wood from the rainforest is used in the region, often without checking on the origin of the wood. He says that it is essential to identify the origin of wood so that it can be certified that it comes from sustainable forestry projects.

Other cities in the interior of São Paulo, such as Botucatu, Bauru, Campinas and São José dos Campos have expressed interest in joining the program. In order to do so, the locals have to pass a law controlling the use of wood by the city. Cities that do so get a Greenpeace diploma and become part of a worldwide network in favor of protecting forests. In the European Community, the program has a total of 300 cities enrolled.

Vieira says that with the program it will easier to combat illegal, predatory lumbering in the Amazon rainforest. "We seek to make sustainable forestry the rule, not the exception. That is our message to lumber companies and people who use wood," he declared.

Translator: Allen Bennett