Brazil’s government has abolished a large national reserve in the Amazon to open up the area to mining and mineral exploration, according to a presidential decree published on 23 August 2017 in the official government gazette.
The area extending across Amapa and Para covering 4.6 million hectares is thought to contain gold, iron ore, copper and other minerals.
The decree from president Michel Temer dissolves the protection of the National Reserve of Copper and Associates (Renca) in a bid to simulate economic activity by the new exploitation plan.
The decree said only a third of the area will be opened up to mining, and the abolition of Renca does not lift other protections for native vegetation, nature conservation areas and indigenous land in the area.
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