BRASILIA, 25 May. (Reuters) - An activist in the Amazon jungle and his wife were shot dead on Tuesday in northern Brazil, at a time when Congress was debating a proposed land division that threatens to drive deforestation in this important area natural. Claudio Joao Ribeiro da Silva, rubber tapper and forest conservation leader, and his wife, Maria do Espirito Santo, were ambushed and killed in Para state, reported the Federal Police and government officials.
It is unknown who is the perpetrator, but Da Silva had warned that he was receiving death threats from loggers and ranchers in the area. The victims were part of the forest workers' organization was founded by legendary activist, Chico Mendes, assassinated in 1988. Da Silva, who frequented international seminars on protection of the Amazon, he worked to defend the inhabitants of the jungle that make their living extracting renewable resources such as nuts, rubber and fruit.
His death renewed concerns about violent conflicts around natural resources in the largest country in Latin America, and comes at a particularly delicate moment for the government. The lower house of Congress on Tuesday debating amendments to the law of land use, which some critics say it represents a waiver of agricultural interests and would set back recent gains to protect the Amazon.
Officials last week announced a sharp increase in deforestation, say activists, was driven by the expectation that they will approve the new law, which provides amnesty to illegal felling of trees in recent decades. The president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, ordered an investigation into the murder, but the Federal Police normally deals only with murder in connection with violations of human rights.
"José Claudio had been marked for death a long time since he began to denounce deforestation and illegal logging in the region," lamented the organization Forum Eastern Amazon (FAORs) on its website. "Again, kill those who defend the forest," the statement said. Dozens of people die each year in land disputes, many in the vast and poorly guarded Amazon region.
The American-born nun Dorothy Stang, who defended the poor pastoralists and opposed the destruction of the Amazon, was shot six times in February 2005. 
It is unknown who is the perpetrator, but Da Silva had warned that he was receiving death threats from loggers and ranchers in the area. The victims were part of the forest workers' organization was founded by legendary activist, Chico Mendes, assassinated in 1988. Da Silva, who frequented international seminars on protection of the Amazon, he worked to defend the inhabitants of the jungle that make their living extracting renewable resources such as nuts, rubber and fruit.
His death renewed concerns about violent conflicts around natural resources in the largest country in Latin America, and comes at a particularly delicate moment for the government. The lower house of Congress on Tuesday debating amendments to the law of land use, which some critics say it represents a waiver of agricultural interests and would set back recent gains to protect the Amazon.
Officials last week announced a sharp increase in deforestation, say activists, was driven by the expectation that they will approve the new law, which provides amnesty to illegal felling of trees in recent decades. The president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, ordered an investigation into the murder, but the Federal Police normally deals only with murder in connection with violations of human rights.
"José Claudio had been marked for death a long time since he began to denounce deforestation and illegal logging in the region," lamented the organization Forum Eastern Amazon (FAORs) on its website. "Again, kill those who defend the forest," the statement said. Dozens of people die each year in land disputes, many in the vast and poorly guarded Amazon region.
The American-born nun Dorothy Stang, who defended the poor pastoralists and opposed the destruction of the Amazon, was shot six times in February 2005.
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