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| Sun, 25th Apr 2021 12:25:00 |
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Brazil: Environment police battle for Amazon rainforest |
Brazil's environmental police force, IBAMA, is facing new challenges due to government policy changes, an anonymous senior officer has told the BBC.
Cuts to government funding and equipment from abroad, as well as the coronavirus pandemic and rioting have left the authority with little resources to protect the Amazon from illegal logging and mining.
The BBC's Chief Environment Correspondent Justin Rowlatt investigates.
Brazil´s enviromental police are under attack.
Footage shows loggers and farmers blocking roads to officers as the war to protect the Amazon rainforest intensifies.
In 2020, Brazil saw its highest levels of deforestation for over a decade. Around 4,200 square miles of forest have been cut down.
Now one senior enviromental officer says his force´s efforts are not being supported by the Brazilian government.
It has become a guerrilla warfare. The job is getting more and more risky. People feel they have the support from the government.
Brazil´s environment minister in a cabinet meeting, he says: "We have the chance at this moment when the media´s attention is almost exclusively on Covid and not the Amazon. While things are quite, let´s do it all at once and change all the rules."
He later said he actually meant "simplify" the rules.
The BBC followed an environmental police raid in 2014. At the time, the environment force had more rosources could rely on backing from the local police and had a free hand to destroy the equipment used to deforestation.
But the practice has since been criticised by Brazil´s President Jair Bolsonaro. His government slashed funding for the environment police and rolled back forest protection rules.
It´s led foreign governments to withdraw funds for helicopters and vehicles used by the environmental police.
Some of those involved in deforestation now believe their actions will be pardoned by the government.
The Brazilian government told the BBC it takes protecting the Amazon very seriously. It said some local officials have withdrawn protection of environmental officers but this is not official policy and denies the rules on burning equipment have changed.
But environmental police told the BBC that in January none of their officers were patrolling the Amazon.
Read original full article
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