On June 5th 2009 the biggest protest by Amazonian indians in Peru in over 250 years was dealt with dealt with in a manner that left over 30 people dead and more than 170 injured.

The protest was against the opening up of forest land to oil and gas companies that was destroying habitat and the livlihoods of local indigenous tribes. The protest turnied in a one of the most bloody uprising with 23 police dead, 5 local civilians dead and 5 indigenous tribes people dead.

There is an increasing hostility by the Peruvian government towards local tribes people which has reslutd in radio stations being closed down, gongress members being suspended from government and local organisations being clamoed down on.

Alberto Pizango - the president of Peru's Amazon Indian organisation has had to seek asylum in Nicaragua.

Over the last few years over 70% of virgin Peruvian Amazon has been parcelled up and handad to goas and oil exploration companies to develop. Nearby Ecuador has had a similar scheme in place previously which has lead to major pollution and health problems when large scale finds have been exploited.

 President passes "Provisional Measure 458"

It's been a month of ups and downs for rainforests. Earlier the world's current richest man Carlos Slim gave a big grant to help preserve rainforest lands and habitats.

Now Brazilian President  Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has passed the new law that will see an area of the amazon the size of France passed into the hands of private landowners. Many people both inside and outside the government are worried about this new law. This pressure from both inside and outside government has been credited with many of the most damaging clauses of the law being vetoed and not passed by the President.

Even so many small farmers who have illegally logged and cleared land for farming and cattle will receive their land free of charge and the larger land occupiers will be given upto 20 years to pay for the land. Concerns have been raised not just about the rewarding of those who illegally logged and cleared the land they now occupy but concerns have been raised about the loss of land of indigenous peoples and loss of wildlife habitat.

Many critics are now warning of a return to land speculation within the amazon in the belief that further amnestys may be granted in the future.

On a more positive note the brazillian government has announced the launch of the Green Arch scheme by which it will pay small farmers to reforest their lands in parts of Brazil that are at particular risk from deforestation.  It has also committed to policing the remaining forest and reducing the amount of deforestation by 70% within the next 10 years.

Early figures seem to show that over the last few months deforestation in the Brazillian rainforest is at it's lowest for 20 years, we can only hope that this transfer of lands from public to private sector will not restart the rush for Amazonian land.

It's impossible to not be impressed with the recent donation of $50 million by Carlos Slim, a mexican billionaire. With match funding by the World Wildlife fund this means an incredible $100 million project to help conserve a number of different biomes in Mexico, ranging from desert to rainforest.

The money is to be targeted at 6 particular rengions in Mexico to help conserve some of the most endangered species and habitats. These regions are:

The Gulf of California - a region that attacts many tourists to the 900 miles of coastline for fishing, diving and relaxing.

The Mesoamerican Reef - running through the Yucatan Pennisula has a rich and diverse coral reef ecosystem and is also and important natural sea defense for the region.

The Chihuahuan Desert - although the largst desert in North Amercia it is still rich in wildlife and contains over 130 species of mammals and is visited by over 500 species of migratory birds.

Oaxaca State - ranks as the highst position in Mexico for biodiversity with over 50% of the species in Mexico being found in this region. It is also in the top five regions in the world for the density of endangered species.

The Monarch Butterfly Reserve - provdes one of natures greatest sites. Millions of Monarch butterflies from North America descend on this area to hibernate over the winter. Illegal logging, unmanaged tourism and cattle rearing are putting the forest areas of the monarch butterfly at risk.

Chiapas State - 10% of the state comprises protected nature reserves due to the high density of biodiversity in this region. The region contains 30% of Mexicos mammal species and 50% of bird species.

Even though Mr Slim has made such a big donation it may only be the start of even more funding, to quote:

"It's an initial investment to get the project started," Slim said in Cozumel. "The possibility of increasing it is being contemplated."

Even though the western media seems to have moved on from rainforest protection to other environmental matters it's great to know that regionally protecting our greatest assets and habitats is still an important issues that is being tackled.