This week in Brazil, politicians and farmers are trying to pass a bill that will allow farmers to cut down trees on their property. They aren't allowed to right now because laws that protect the Amazon Rain Forest saw that farmers have to conserve a certain percentage of their property as rain forest. However, that makes it difficult for some farmers to make enough money to live off of. The new bill will allow them to use more of their property for agriculture. Part of the bill will also give amnesty (forgiveness) to people who illegally cut down trees in the Amazon before 2008. Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff says she will veto a bill that includes amnesty for illegal deforestation.
The Amazon Rain Forest is a vast area of land (about 1.7 billion acres). It is home to more than 2 million insect species, 2,000 birds and mammals, 40,000 plant species and 3,000 fish. Do you think the government should continue to protect the Amazon or let farmers use their own property to grow crops and make a living?
Read more about the bill here.
