GCSE Ecosystems Unit

1. Brazil makes 'rainforest'
condoms
Producing local condoms will help preserve
the world's largest rainforest
By Gary Duffy
BBC News, Sao Paulo
The Brazilian government has begun producing
condoms using rubber from trees in the Amazon.
The health ministry says the move will help preserve the
largest rainforest in the world.
It will also cut dependence on imported contraceptives,
which are given away to fight Aids.
The Brazilian government has one of the biggest
programmes in the world to distribute free condoms in the
fight against the disease.
The new state-run factory is in the north-western state of
Acre, and will initially produce 100 million condoms a
year, which will be known by the name Natex.
Officials believe that not only will it generate income for
Amazon residents, but it will involve using a product
which is widely available and can be obtained without
destroying large areas of the rainforest.
The latex will come from the Chico Mendes reserve, an
area named after the famous conservationist and rubber
tapper who was shot dead in 1988 by local ranchers.
The factory will benefit at least 500 families and provide
150 jobs in the town of Xapuri which has a population of
around 15,000 people.
The health ministry says the condoms will be the only
ones in the world made of latex harvested from a tropical
forest, and will reduce the reliance on foreign imports.
The Brazilian government says it is the world's largest
single buyer of condoms, purchasing more than a billion
of the contraceptives in recent years to give away free as
part of the country's national programme to combat Aids.
The policy, which is at its most visible during the Carnival

2. period, has often been criticised by Catholics bishops who
say it only encourages promiscuity.