Luiz inácio Lula Da Silva Launches First Anti-deforestation Raids in Amazon in Vow To Protect Rainforest in Brazil

Anti-deforestation raids in Amazon started on Thursday under President Luiz InacioLula da Silva in his vow to end the surging destruction of Brazil's rainforest.

Brazilian environment agents started the raids in the states of Roraima and Acre, according to Ibama environmental coordinator Tatiane Leite, as reported by Reuters.

Givanildo dos Santos Lima, the agent leading Ibama's Uruara mission, noted that people know the Lula administration will tighten and will not let them use an area they deforested illegally.

Jair Bolsonaro's administration had cut staff and funding for environmental enforcement by Ibama during his presidency.

During the first Amazon raids under Lula's administration, around 10 Ibama agents were deployed in pickup trucks from their base with a dozen of the federal police.

There was also a newly constructed house with several chainsaws and weeks of food in the pantry, according to the agents.

Environmental agents also found an area the size of 57 football fields with downed and charged trunks.

Agents said that some messily planted corn sprouted up to knee-level in what appeared to be an attempt to lay claim to the area to eventually turn it into a cattle pasture.

Lima said that the agents will come back with a helicopter and "catch them by surprise."

Luiz inácio Lula Da Silva's Vow to Protect Brazil's Amazon

Lula has vowed to reverse the environmental destruction that was done under Bolsonaro's administration.

Aside from Amazon's protection, he also promised to tackle crime in the rainforest and ensure the protection of Indigenous rights.

Natalie Unterstell, president of the climate policy think tank Instituto Talanoa, said that Lula will be facing the challenge of "how to be ambitious on climate issues," and be effective at the same time.

Unterstell added that Brazil would have to rebuild on the "basis of results, not just of talk."

Ilona Szabó of the Instituto Igarapé, said that deforestation is "just the tip of the iceberg," noting that there are several "illicit economies and many actors with a level or organization."

Instituto Igarapé is a think tank centered on public and climate security.

From August 2021 to July 2022, Amazon deforestation was at 11,568 sq km, according to the annual deforestation report.

Jair Bolsonaro on Amazon Rainforest

During Bolsonaro's presidency, the National Institute for Space Research registered forest fires scorching the Amazon, particularly in the years 2019 and 2020.

Bolsonaro has denied some of the instances and accused research the institute and environmentalists of wanting to harm Brazil.

He also rejected assistance from abroad at the time. Instead, he sent the military to help firefighting efforts at a very late stage.

Indigenous groups and environmentalists have frequently complained about threats against them increasing since Bolsonaro became the president.

They also claimed that the former president has created a climate that allows farmers to seize land illegally and encourages loggers and miners to enter protected areas.

In Bolsonaro's administration, the 2021 budget for the Environment Ministry was also the smallest in two decades.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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