204 THE FUTURE OF ARID LANDS 
Figure 4. A quarter century of misuse created this desert landscape 
out of forest-covered lands in Municipio of Cerqueira Cesar, Sao Paulo 
State. 
with a recent example from the pioneer coftee lands of southern 
Brazil (Figure 4). Incorrect agricultural practices that aggravate 
floods and droughts are certainly not restricted to the northeastern 
section of Brazil, but are the rule throughout the country (G, mo). 
It is not surprising, therefore, that much confusion exists con- 
cerning the true extent of the lands afflicted by recurrent droughts. 
The problem of defining their area is no mere point of academic 
interest, for the Brazilian Constitution establishes that: 
In implementing plans to provide for protection from the effects of 
the so-called séca of the Nordeste, the Union shall expend yearly, on 
works and services of economic and social assistance, a sum equivalent 
to not less than three per cent of the tributary income. 
Paragraph one. One-third of this amount shall be set up as a special 
fund with which to succor the populations stricken by the calamity; 
this reserve, or part of it, may be applied at moderate interest rates, ac- 
cording to law, in loans to farmers and industrialists established within 
the area subject to the drought. 
Paragraph two. The states lying within the ‘area of the drought” 
shall apply three per cent of their tax income in the construction, on a 
cooperative basis, of reservoirs, and in other services which may be 
necessary to their populations.* 
* Law 1005, sanctioned December 24, 1949, establishes rules for the 
application of the constitutional provision. 
