Brazil has held its first auction of commercial logging rights on public forestlands in the Amazon.
Eight bidders are believed to be in the frame for commercially logging the 93,360ha of forest over a period of 40 years.
The government plans to auction about one million hectares annually and hopes the move will reduce illegal logging in the Amazon.
Bids relate to areas of land in the Jamari National Forest in Rondonia state, with an expected annual production of about 2.9 million m³.
