25 Feb Fall in deforestation levels in the last months of 2020
Deforestation in the Amazon fell by 70% in January this year (2021). The month of January had the smallest area of deforestation alerts in the Legal Amazon in the last four years. The considerable reduction occurs, however, over the record-breaking January 2020, with more than 280 km² of deforestation. Inpe recorded about 85.7 km² of destruction in January 2021, the lowest amount since 2017. The information was released on February 12, in Brasília, by the Ministry of Defense, with data from the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe ).
According to the analyzed data, in the last six months, the warnings of deforestation had a reduction of 21%. “Between August 2020 and January 2021 there was a 988 km² reduction in alerts, according to data from Inpe. For comparison, it is an area larger than the urban area of the city of São Paulo – the largest urban center in the country with approximately 950 km² ”, informed the Ministry of Defense.
These data demonstrate “the good performance” of the integrated work coordinated by the National Council for the Legal Amazon in the region, mainly through Operation Verde Brasil 2, which was launched on May 11, 2020 to combat illegal outbreaks of fire, deforestation and mining in the Legal Amazon region.
The Operation is coordinated by the Joint Operations Center of the Ministry of Defense and has the support of the Joint North Command (CCjN), the Joint Amazon Command (CCjA), the Joint West Command (CCjO) and the Aerospace Operations Command (Comae) , of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB).
Verde Brasil 2 is also an integrated work with agents from the Federal Police, from the Federal Highway Police, from the National Public Security Force, from the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin). In addition to members of the Management and Operational Center for the Amazon Protection System (Censipam), the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) and the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMbio).
From the beginning of the operation, in May 2020, until January this year, 331 thousand cubic meters of wood, 1,699 vessels, 326 tractors and 20 airplanes / helicopters were seized, resulting in the application of 4,842 fines in the total amount of R $ 3.33 billion.
The council’s actions aim to optimize field teams through the technical-scientific work of government agency analysts gathered at the Management and Operational Center of the Amazon Protection System (Censipam), in Brasília, which is subordinate to the Ministry of Defense.
Hamilton Mourão, vice president and head of the Amazon Council, recently announced the end of Operation Verde Brasil 2 as of May 1. From May 15, 2020 to January 30 this year, the operation cost about R $ 400 million, much higher than Ibama’s budget for environmental inspection throughout the country.
According to Mourão, during the military action, there was a concentration of environmental crimes, such as illegal deforestation, in a set of municipalities. The vice president did not say which. The data made available weekly by Inpe allows the verification of the municipalities with the highest deforestation rates.
Experts consider the military’s withdrawal from inspection actions in the Amazon to be positive, considering its cost and questionable effectiveness. In addition, they emphasize that the activity of supervising is the responsibility of environmental agencies that already have experience in the area. The Army, however, could be used to support certain actions in the field.
Sources:
Em janeiro, Amazônia tem queda de cerca de 70% nos alertas de desmate. Folhapress, 12/02/2021. Disponível em: Em janeiro, Amazônia tem queda de cerca de 70% nos alertas de desmate | Valor (globo.com). Acesso em 19/02/2021.
Desmatamento na Amazônia tem queda de 70% em janeiro, diz governo. Agência Brasil, 12/02/2021. Disponível em: Desmatamento na Amazônia tem queda de 70% em janeiro, diz governo | Agência Brasil (ebc.com.br). Acesso em 22/02/2021.
Operação Verde Brasil 2 completa 6 meses de atuação. Governo do Brasil, 11/11/2020. Disponível em: Operação Verde Brasil 2 completa 6 meses | Governo do Brasil (gov.br). Acesso em 22/02/2021.