On April 14, 2009, the official results of the 2nd Mapping & Monitoring for the Soy Moratorium were announced. The event was held in Brasília, in the Ministry of the Environment's auditorium, with the presence of Carlo Lovatelli, president of ABIOVE and business sector coordinator, Paulo Adário, Greenpeace's Amazonia Campaign director and the civil society coordinator, and Carlos Minc, Minister for the Environment.

Presentation of the results and delivery of the final report by representatives of the companies and the NGOs to Minister Carlos Minc was honored by the participation of important communication vehicles from Brazil and around the world, showing the importance of the work done for the current ample debate on the Amazon and climatic changes.

The media learned the facts raised in the field survey of the 630 selected polygons, listened carefully to the citations about the Moratorium's contribution to the containment of deforestation and transmitted the message that soy has a very small presence in the Amazon Biome and is not an important agent in the region's deforestation.

Paulo Adário of Greenpeace stated: "The Soy Moratorium has been an important strategy in fighting deforestation. The industry reiterates its commitment not to acquire this production, and we expect the government to support this initiative as well, making the governance mechanisms needed to strengthen this initiative operational".

The point was also made by Minister Carlos Minc: "I recognize the positive effort and credit the significant reduction in deforestation to pacts such as the Soy Moratorium. (.) In addition to approval of the MP (provisional measure) for land regularization and payment for environmental services, the government is going to direct an excess of R$5 million from PPG7 to speed up rural environmental registration". He declared to a TV station, "It is not enough to sign a paper. It is important to see if it is being complied with. The soy paper is being complied with".

Carlos Alberto de Mattos Scaramuzza, WWF-Brasil's Conservation Superintendent, emphasized the evolution of the soy productive chain since the beginning of the Moratorium. "It is important to note that a significant part of the agribusiness sector heads up a process such as this, seeking a positive agenda and generating favorable results. The sector did its bit, instead of looking for guilty parties for the deforestation problem", he highlighted.

This made it possible to demystify soy's role in the current complex debate on deforestation in the Amazon Biome and set up a work schedule in which the government recognizes the fundamental role of its action in the region. The Soy Moratorium's transparency and amplitude opened the way for elaboration of government policies and actions that effectively deal with the real causes leading to deforestation in this Biome.

See below photos of the event:

Check below more news on the results of the 2nd Monitoring of the Soy Moratorium: