But the old ways are changing, according to The Economist. It was thought that farming land would be more valuable than forest land. But now, decades later, the lesson has been learnt. Former rainforest land makes lousy farmland, and there's more money to be made from growing rainforest trees on it. Sounds like common sense, but it appears that no-one considered this until quite recently.
Sustainable management is also economic management.
But Brazilians still need land to grow crops on, and ways to exploit their natural resources for the benefit of society. It's all very well for the developed world to tell Brazil to save its forest, when most developed countries utterly destroyed their own forests hundreds of years ago. The Economist remains a right-wing publication, which often annoys left wingers and liberals with its political leanings. But at the same time, it is probably the only international news publication that regularly covers environmental issues in any great depth. Business people and politicians, the ideal Economist readers, are usually not credited with any knowledge or concern about green issues, but if they read The Economist you can be sure that they are being exposed to them.