Brazil’s Rousseff creates new nature reserves
Jun 5, 2012, 7:29 PM | Updated: Jul 22, 2024, 1:28 pm
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) – Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has created two new nature reserves, as well as seven indigenous territories in the Amazon.
The reserves are among a raft of environmental measures Rousseff signed into law on Tuesday, just weeks before the United Nations’ mega-conference on sustainable development. The Rio+20 conference is to be held in Rio de Janeiro from June 20-22.
Tuesday’s signing also comes amid environmentalists’ criticism of Rousseff, who they’ve blasted for putting economic development before environmental protection.
In remarks during the signing, Rousseff defended her record, saying that Brazil has become “one of the most advanced countries” in sustainable development.
The new, 34,000-hectare Bom Jesus Biological Reserve is in the southern state of Parana, while the 8,500-hectare Furna Feia National Park is in the northern Rio Grande do Norte state.
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