Terms of Commitment – Soya Moratorium
Considering that the Soya Moratorium seeks to reconcile environmental conservation with economic development through the responsible and sustainable use of Brazil’s natural resources;
Recognizing that this constructive dialogue initiative to improve governance has had positive results;
Bearing in mind that the current deadline for the two-year Soya Moratorium expires on July 23, 2008;
The signatories below have reached the following understanding:
Article 1
ABIOVE – Associação Brasileira das Indústrias de Óleos Vegetais (the Brazilian Vegetable Oil Industries Association), ANEC – Associação Nacional dos Exportadores de Cereais (the National Grain Exporters Association) and their respective members agree to extend for a further year, that is until July 23, 2009, their commitment not to trade soya that comes from deforested areas within the Amazon Biome after July 24, 2006, known as the Soya Moratorium.
They will work jointly with Brazilian government entities, and with entities that represent rural producers and civilian society, to:
a) Accomplish the monitoring of the Biome;
b) Encourage soya producers to comply with the Brazilian Forest Code;
c) Collaborate and follow up with the Brazilian government regarding the definition, application and compliance with public policies on land use in the region (ZEE – Zoneamento Econômico-Ecológico, or Economic-Ecological Zoning).
Article 2
The civilian society organizations that participate in the Soya Moratorium Work Group are committed to:
a) Cooperating by providing information and specialized technical assistance to the GTS;
b) Defending, internally and externally, the creation of remuneration mechanisms for rendering environmental and forest conservation services.
Article 3
The Ministry of the Environment supports this industry and civilian society initiative by:
a) Promoting and supporting, jointly with environmental state entities, the implementation of a rural property environmental register and license, giving priority to the soya-producing towns in the Amazon Biome;
b) Supporting and promoting, jointly with state entities, the implementation of Economic-Ecological Zoning (ZEE) in the Legal Amazon states;
c) Ensuring the production of an Amazon Biome map on a scale that allows the monitoring of the rural properties included therein;
d) Cooperating with other government entities and defending in international forums the development of programs that encourage sustainable production, including a remuneration program.
Brasília, July 17, 2008