Brazil's government on Thursday announced a plan to ban Amazon fires for 120 days after a meeting with investors that raised concerns on the destruction of the rainforest.

The decree was drafted by the Brazilian Environment Ministry and is set to be issued next week.

Last year, Brazil also banned burning for 60 days before adding another 60 days. This year, it went straight to 120 days to avoid another jump in wild fires during the dry season, the Bloomberg reported.

Last year, military men were put in charge to fight the forest fires. This move was fiercely criticized. Following the ban, fires died down in September and October 2019.

A virtual investment conference was held on Thursday for Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourao to announce the fire ban. Around 10 European firms were part of the meeting.

Mourao cited a letter signed by 29 firms, where some of them threatened to cut all investment in Brazil unless the Amazon fires stop, the VOA News reported.

Several investors are putting further investments on hold until they see results from the government. Some even warned to pull present assets from Brazil.

It is up to the government to act on protecting the forest to make sure the investors do not pull out, said a report from the Al Jazeera.

Jeanett Bergan, head of Norway's largest pension fund said they really value the dialogue with Brazil. The investor hoped to see real results on the ground.

Investors are looking at forest fire and deforestation data to find out the progress of the ban, Bergan said.

Bergan added that follow-up meetings may also happen between officials to talk about specific details. The meetings will help find out if the right measures are being taken.

Brazil Treated Unfairly

Mourao said Brazil was not getting fair treatment over the Amazon deforestation. The situation on fires and deforestation surged since President Jair Bolsonaro took office last year.

Last week's data from Brazil showed that the number of fires rose 20 percent to a 13-year-high for the month of June.

The vice president said the current government had to take over agencies with few staff and did not have enough people to stop illegal loggers and gold miners from coming into the 386,000 square miles worth of land.

Brazilian officials have said that they are working on breaking the current image of the country as being uncaring to the Amazon and hostile to those who want to save it.

Experts are also worried the outsiders are spreading the coronavirus that could ruin the lives of tribes in the forest.

Indigenous Tribes Threatened by Amazon Fires

The United Kingdom is most reliant on goods from Brazil, said The Sunday Post. But Brazil is also one of the most risky countries to get products from as land in Brazil is driving habitat damage.

The fires destroy the habitats of animals in Brazil that is home to 464 globally threatened species, environmental groups said. Other than that, it is also destroying the homes of indigenous communities.

"We depend 100 percent on the forest to survive. The forest is our home, our supermarket, our pharmacy - it is everything we need to survive," said Chief Tashka Yawanawa of the Yawanawa in Acre, Brazil.

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