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Discusses the plight of Brazilian farm laborers and the inequality in private land ownership in Brazil. Information on the Landless Rural Workers' Movement (MST) in Brazil; Description of the agrarian structure of Brazil; Description of a typical MST member; Examples of network of alternative economic and social ventures created by the movement. INSET: A combative art.

The article discusses government intervention to preserve forests on the island of Borneo, half of which have been destroyed by loggers, forest fires and plantations. The island's three governments agreed at a summit to conserve 22 million hectares of rainforest in the "heart of Borneo", the last large block of forest in the island's interior. The forest situation in Mato Grosso, Brazil is very different, with the government allowing more and more human infiltration.

Comments on the actions taken by Movimento Sem Terra (MST) or the landless peoples' movement to reclaim a land at a farming estate in Maranhao, Brazil. Solution of MST to land ownership inequality in the country; Implication of the MST reclamation efforts for the government's economic program.

Earlier this month, foes of a proposed Indian reservation blocked roads leading to Boa Vista, capital of the Amazonian state of Roraima, and occupied the offices of the agencies for federal agrarian reform and Indian affairs. The dispute has polarised Roraima. It also sheds light on wider struggles between environmentalists and enthusiasts for traditional culture on one side, and advocates of economic growth on the other. The trigger is the impending declaration by Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, of a new indigenous territory covering eight percent of Roraima, which means removing the non-Indian population of several villages and a small town, plus several large rice plantations. For decades, the area's 15,000 Indians have been trying to reclaim their land from miners and farmers, who brought drink, dirt and prostitution. The idea of putting parts of the state off limits to non-Indians seems unBrazilian to many. Yet some Indians are among the most vociferous critics of the reservation in its proposed form. The reservation's supporters claim that these critics are in the pay of the rice planters, but critics say that the church and NGOs are foisting on them a simplicity and isolation Indians no longer want.

Reports on the achievements of the Japanese-Brazilian Cooperation Program for the development of Cerrados (PROCEDER), a joint development project by the governments of Japan and Brazil. Ending of the 21-year project in March 2001; Brazilian government's program for developing domestic resources; Infrastructure problems; Cultivation of soybeans in undeveloped lands.

The territory of the Menkragnoti people in central Brazil, which has a perimeter of nearly 1,500 kilometers and is covered with rain forest, has been the subject of an international campaign led by the Kayapo leader Raoni and rock music artist Sting. Raoni has waged a lifelong battle against the encroachment by farmers, gold miners and lumber companies into the traditional tribal territory. Following a visit to the Amazon village, rock singer Sting agreed to tour the world in 1989 with Raoni to highlight the threat to the rain forests and indigenous people and to meet the estimated cost of $1.2 million needed to demarcate the area. The signing of the decree in November 1991 came just days after a similar agreement by the government to set aside an area for the Yanomami Indians. Sting said that these courageous and historic decisions are victories not just for the Yanomami and for Raoni and his people but for everyone who cares about human rights and the environment. Thanks in part to the tour, the Rainforest Foundation and its Brazilian partner, the Fundacao Mata Virgem, were founded and nearly $1 million has gone to Brazil to develop and implement programs to protect indigenous territories; maintain and preserve natural and genetic resources; and provide education, medical services, and political support to the indigenous people of the rain forest.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Maureen Carter-Whitney on how Calgary, Alberta can use greenbelt experiences from around the globe to protect its near-urban lands and another by Mairon Giovani Bastos Lima on how Brazilian street vending is nourishing the local economy.

The article states that an analysis of satellite images shows that jungles are being cleared to create cropland in the Amazon region of Brazil. This practice accounts for one-sixth of the deforestation in the region. The conversion of forests and jungles to croplands is driven by the international demand for soybeans and other Brazilian crops. Land use after deforestation can be tracked by analyzing satellite images and linking color patterns of the land areas to their usage.