Brazilian lawmakers on Thursday approved a controversial law giving land titles to properties carved out of the protected Amazon rain forest by squatters before December 2004.
The move, which still has to go before the senate, was cautiously backed by Environment Minister Carlos Minc, who told AFP: "When there are 300,000 people occupying land irregularly, there is no one to fine and make responsible if they don't respect environmental legislation."
But he warned that if environmental rules were not followed, the titles would be "a license for deforestation" and "an ecological disaster of huge proportions."
If passed, the law would benefit occupiers of 300,000 properties totaling 600,000 square kilometers (230,000 square miles).
Environmental groups hope the passage before the senate will tighten rules on what the landholders can do in the protected area.
Under current environmental law, they are required to preserve 80 percent of the property in its natural state.
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