An ethanol feedstock expert from the Latin America Office of the University of Wagenigen (Netherlands) refers to the notion that “Brazil is planting sugarcane in the Amazon” and displacing cattle/soybean production as “inaccurate”. In an interview with Ethanol Statistics, Associate Professor Peter Zuurbier discussed the dynamic process between illegal activities and the expansion of agricultural lands in the Amazon rainforest. The real problem, he says, is “in illegal deforestation and lack of property rights”. Around 50 percent of the Amazon region is said to have disputed titles and timber companies could take advantage of the situation. There are also difficulties in the enforcement of laws to combat illegal timber trade. In the interview article (URL above), Zuurbier also discussed solutions to the situation, among which are the “satellite monitoring system”, and self-enforcing regulation by large commodity traders. The interview article can be accessed from links at the above URL..