RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The federal government has decided to ban the setting of fires throughout the country during the dry season.
A Decree incorporating the ban was issued on Wednesday, August 28th, and should be published on Thursday, August 29th, in the Federal Gazette.
The decree suspends permits for the use of fire for a period of sixty days, intending to protect the environment.
The Forestry Code only permits fires in specific cases and when authorized by an environmental entity. In the case of indigenous peoples, the practice is allowed in subsistence farming.
According to the text, the suspension will not be applied to cases of plant or health control authorized by an environmental entity, in fire prevention and fire fighting activities, nor subsistence farming by indigenous peoples.
The measure was announced in the midst of the environmental and diplomatic crisis caused by the escalation in the number of fires and deforestation in the Amazon.
Last week president Jair Bolsonaro issued a decree authorizing the deployment of the Armed Forces to assist the states with Legal Amazon in fighting the fires.