IBAMA Inspectors Accuse Army of Not Cooperating in Actions Against Illegal Mining

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The document is an official letter sent on September 23rd by the coordination of inspection operations to IBAMA‘s general inspection coordination, directly linked to its president, Eduardo Fortunato Bim.

In the document, the agency reports that on three occasions the military commands operating in the GLO in the Amazon denied support to actions against illegal mining in the region.

Questioned by GLOBO on the refusal to help IBAMA in the cases addressed in the document obtained by the story, the Ministry of Defense sent a note in which it does not directly cover the issue.

The portfolio states that ‘Operação Verde Brasil‘ (“Green Brazil Operation”), for being a joint operation, demands the implementation of coordinated actions between the Armed Forces and the agencies involved” and that “decision making is always combined and the results are consolidated as they are reported to the mission’s command”.

The note goes on to state that “in order to carry out the actions required to solve the occurrences, it is necessary to use the best strategy for each situation”.

And it finishes with a balance of the GLO’s results until now: 22.661,98m³ of seized timber, interdiction of four illegal logging companies, destruction of 18 illegal camps, 204 notices of infraction, R$56 million (US$14 million) in fines, eight bridges destroyed, 77 people arrested, 17 trucks, eight tractors and an excavator seized.

Sensitive issue within the government

The destruction of equipment during environmental inspection operations is a sensitive issue in the management of Bolsonaro’s policy for the sector.

In April, the president recorded a video in which he disapproved of an action by IBAMA, which resulted in the destruction of equipment of illegal loggers in Rondônia. At the time, the government even announced that it would publish a rule to change the criteria for the destruction of such equipment.

The action, however, is authorized by a 2008 decree that pemits disabling seized machinery in environmental crime cases when the transport or storage of such equipment is unfeasible or poses risks to inspectors.

On two of the three occasions reported, IBAMA inspectors were forced to abort the missions due to a lack of military support. On another occasion, the mission was carried out with the support of the State Police.

The first documented situation occurred on September 11th. According to IBAMA, the GLO denied its support in the fight against an illegal mining operation on the Trincheira Bacajá indigenous land in Pará. IBAMA’s justification was that the action could result in the seizure and destruction of the miners’ equipment.

The second event occurred on September 15th, when an IBAMA team in the Upper Guamá River region, between Pará and Maranhão, also did not have the support of the Northern Military Command – the action was carried out with the support of the Federal Police.

The official letter claims that, despite not having acted in the operation, the military have considered the results as if they had been achieved through their work.

The third situation occurred on September 23rd. The inspectors were preparing an operation to fight mining along BR-163, but they were forced to abort it because the Northern Military Command refused to provide logistical support.

The allegation was, according to the document, that “the operation could cause problems” due to the ongoing negotiations with the miners and the recent blockade of BR-163.

A troop of 8,100 soldiers in action

The GLO was decreed by President Bolsonaro in August, amid the pressure caused by the increase in forest fires in the Amazon. Approximately 8,100 troops were deployed to fight forest fires and deforestation in the region.

The operation was scheduled to last only one month but was extended for a further month. According to the Ministry of Defense, the government released R$86 million to pay for the operations.

Since then, the number of fires has declined. In August, 30,900 fires were recorded in the Amazon biome. In September, when there are usually more fires than in August, the number dropped to 19,100 by the 28th – most recent data from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).

Last week, Defense Minister Fernando Azevedo e Silva advocated the GLO’s effectiveness.

The destruction of equipment is criticized by illegal miners and loggers. With the deployment of the GLO in the region, miners from Pará blocked a stretch of BR-163.

On August 15th, they met with Environment Minister Ricardo Salles and the Presidential Chief of Staff Onyx Lorenzoni to pressure for penalties to be imposed on inspectors who destroy equipment during inspections.

Source: O Globo