Brazil Launches Program to Plant 1 Billion Trees in the Amazon

The Brazilian state of Para announced Friday that it will launch a reforestation program to plant 1 billion trees by 2013 in the Amazon rainforest region.

Para’s Governor Ana Julia Carepa told Xinhua that the initiative shows the local authorities assume their responsibility for the rainforest’s preservation.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to attend the program’s inauguration.

"The government will not plant trees in person but offer incentives to stimulate planting," Carepa said.

She added that officials of Para and other states will gather in the city of Belem Friday to discuss the challenges of the region.

"It is not that the national government tells us what to do with the Amazon. We, the Amazonians, are active actors and protagonists in putting the Amazon within the national development. National development has to do with the Amazon with the concept of a new development model," she added.