PRIME MINISTER
FOR MEDIA 23 MAY 1989
ASSISTANCE FOR AMAZON RAINFOREST PROTECTION
The Australian Government has agreed to make a substantial
donation towards the protection of the Amazon rainforests.
The Government will donate $ 250,000 to the Fundacao Mata
Virgem The Rainforest Foundation in support of its
efforts to establish a 180,000 square kilometre ecological
reserve in the Xingu region of the Amazon Basin.
The Australian donation only the second by a national
government will be a major boost to the campaign, which is
designed to finance demarcation and management of large
extensions to the existing Xingu National Park.
The Foundation estimates that it will cost $ 4.5 million to
demarcate the large area of rainforest, in co-operation with
the Brazilian Government, and create a successful management
regime for the reserve.
The request for assistance was made by a delegation
travelling the world to raise money for the new reserve,
which would protect not only the rainforest but the 17
Amazonian Indian nations which rely on it for food and
shelter. The delegation included rock singer and conservationist
Sting; film-maker Jean-Pierre Dutilleux; tribal leader of
the Kayapo nation, Raoni, and the director of the existing
Xingu National Park, Megaron; and American Indian Red Crow.
The fate of the Amazon rainforests is a matter of
international importance; it is a global issue. Their
destruction is contributing to the global problem of the
greenhouse effect.
The Government of Brazil should not be expected alone to
bear the financial btwrden-of-preserving these rainforests.
I commend Sting, Raoni, Jean-Pierre, Megaron and their
colleagues for their international efforts, covering some 17
countries, and I am pleased that the Australian Government
can play a part in this most worthy and vitally important
cause.
I hope the Australian donation will encourage other
countries and individuals to take a global approach to the
problem of rainforest destruction, and support the Fundacao
Mata Virgem in its efforts to preserve areas of the Amazon
rainforest.