Amazon to get BRL 730 mi for efforts against fires and deforestation
The Federal Program with Municipalities for Reducing Deforestation and Forest Fires in the Amazon, unveiled Tuesday (Apr. 9) by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, includes investments adding up to BRL 730 million aimed at sustainable development and combating deforestation and wildfires across 70 municipalities in the Amazon region.
The funds will come from the Amazon Fund (BRL 600 mi) and the Forest+ Program (BRL 130 mi), in an effort by the Ministry of the Environment to boost the market for environmental services.
During the initiative’s launch ceremony at the Planalto presidential palace, the president said the amount should help the country achieve zero deforestation by 2030 while offering cities assistance to prevent, monitor, and curb degradation.
“We need to take care of the world’s largest forest reserve—as it is under our guardianship—and try to bring quality not only to city authorities and the people, but also to the cities’ financial conditions,” he declared.
According to the Planalto, the municipalities currently able to join the initiative accounted for nearly 80 percent of deforestation in the biome in 2022. Of the 70 priority municipalities, 53 have taken part in the program. The remaining 17 can sign up until April 30.
Sustainable management
Environment Minister Marina Silva said that the more than BRL 700 million in funding is just the beginning: “The apple of our eye is the support for sustainable production activities. We know we won’t be able to curb deforestation in any biome only through command and control actions. We can only achieve that when keeping the forest standing proves more profitable than cutting it down,” she argued.
The idea, she went on, is to encourage forest use through sustainable management. “Only [in a sustainable way] will we guarantee that timber producers or industrialists will have jobs for their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren,” she stated.
