After Record Amazon Deforestation Alert, Government Reassigns INPE Coordinator

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The government has dismissed the general coordinator of Earth Observation for the National Space Research Institute (INPE), Lubia Vinhas. The dismissal, signed by the Minister of Science and Technology, Marcos Pontes, was published in Monday’s issue of the Federal Gazette.

Earth Observation is the INPE’s area in charge, among other duties, of monitoring the devastation of the Amazon, through the Real Time Deforestation Detection System (DETER).

In a conversation with TV Globo, Lubia said that she has been a contracted civil servant at INPE for 23 years and, consequently, should remain with the institute – despite not holding a management position. She also said she was unaware of the reason for her dismissal and said she learned of the change through the Federal Gazette.

Later in the afternoon, the INPE released a note stating that Lubia will, in fact, be reassigned to another position. According to the institute, she will be “Head of the Strategic Project Division, which will manage the implementation of the new INPE Georeferenced Database (“BIG”), a demand from Minister Pontes.”

“This, incidentally, is Dr. Lubia Vinhas’ primary training and expertise area,” says the INPE (read the full note at the end of this article).

Also in a memo, the Ministry of Science and Technology reported that the dismissal had already been planned and that the restructuring of the INPE directorates would be announced on Tuesday, July 14th.

“Dr. Lubia Vinhas has been involved in this process and is in accord with the changes, which were planned and have no connection with the production and disclosure of deforestation data, which will continue to pursue the same procedures with quality and transparency,” said the Ministry.

Last week, the INPE reported that June had the highest number of deforestation alerts for the month since official records began in 2015.

In the first half of the year, the alerts point to devastation in 3,069.57 km² of the Amazon, a 25 percent increase compared to the first half of 2019. In June alone, the area on alert totaled 1,034.4 km².

The data serve as a guide for inspection teams on where environmental crimes may be occurring. The figures do not represent the official deforestation rate, which is measured by another system, released once a year.

In a statement released shortly after the dismissal, Greenpeace said it “did not come as a surprise” given previous decisions made by the Jair Bolsonaro administration, but “it once again suggests that the government is an enemy of the truth.”

“But it is not by hiding, masking the data or investing in propaganda that the government will change reality. And this happens for a very simple reason: Bolsonaro doesn’t want to change his policy; after all, destruction is his government’s project,” says the statement by the organization’s Public Policy spokesperson, Luiza Lima.

According to the executive secretary of the Climate Observatory, Marcio Astrini, the government has not abandoned a purported intervention plan at the INPE.

“It has been no secret that the government has been wanting to intervene at the INPE since last year. The repercussions of the dismissal of [former Director] Ricardo Galvão prevented this, but Lubia Vinhas’ dismissal may be an indication that the plan has never been abandoned. That this is happening during a full swing of deforestation, when the government needs to contain disinvestment threats, is an indication that Jair Bolsonaro seems to be addressing the concerns of agribusiness and investors just as he addresses those of Brazilians terrorized by the coronavirus. Our economy is at extreme risk,” he said.

Previous resignation

In August last year, amid the increase in the number of fire outbreaks in the Amazon, the government dismissed the then director of INPE, Ricardo Galvão. At the time, President Jair Bolsonaro had discredited the institute’s data and said that Galvão would be “at the service of some NGO”. Galvão rejected the allegations.

Source: G1