Man who destroyed vast forest wins demise of park

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — In a move that shocked environmentalists, the government of Brazil’s third-largest state has given up a legal fight over protecting a state park in one of the Amazon's most biodiverse areas. The upshot of that decision is that a man responsible for the deforestation of huge swaths of protected land wins with finality a lawsuit against the government. The park will cease to exist.

Antonio José Rossi Junqueira Vilela has been fined millions of dollars for deforestation in Brazil and for stealing thousands of hectares (acres) of the Amazon rainforest. Yet it was a company linked to him that filed a lawsuit against the state of Mato Grosso, alleging it had improperly set the borders of the Cristalino II State Park.

The park stretches for 118,000 hectares (292,000 acres), larger than New York City, and lies in the transition zone between the Amazon and drier Cerrado biomes. It is home to the endemic white-fronted spider monkey (Ateles marginatus), a species endangered due to habitat loss.

In a 3-2 decision, Mato Grosso´s upper court ruled that the government's creation of the park in 2001 was illegal because it took place without public consultation.

The state government did not appeal that decision, leaving it to become final. Now the park will be officially dissolved, the government press office confirmed to The Associated Press.

The loss of the park is a measure of how bad things are today for the Amazon. Not only are environmental laws going unenforced, now a court has invalidated a major protected area. Scientists say not only are ecosystems being lost, but massive deforestation is damaging the forest's ability to absorb carbon dioxide, a crucial role it plays for the planet.

LAYING WASTE TO THE FOREST

Before he challenged the validity of...