By REUTERS

BRASÍLIA, Jan. 24 — In a move intended to meet environmentalists' concerns, Brazil said today that it would assess the impact of an
economic development plan on the Amazon. Some scientists have warned that up to 42 percent of the Amazon rain forest could be
destroyed by the project.

João Paulo Silveira, the development ministry official in charge of the $40 billion plan, said the government would study the probable environmental
impact of all projects envisaged. The study, to be carried out over 12 months, is expected to cost $400,000. He promised that if environmental
damage is feared, projects will be altered.

The Amazon, a forest area seven times the size of France, is home to up to 30 percent of the planet's animal and plant life. It already loses 4.7
million acres, an area the size of Rhode Island, each year to loggers and other destruction, a recent article in Science magazine said.

But Mr. Silveira said the Science article had "no technical foundations." He said its projections were faulty because it did not consider recent
developments like much more stringent environmental laws than in the 1980's.