Brazil gov’t launches plan to tackle wildfires
Cases linked to fires and other environmental crimes in the Amazon, the Cerrado and the Pantanal will be given a specific plan which also predicts illegal activities. Launched Thursday (Jul. 22) by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, the Strategic Operational Plan for the Integrated Work in the Fight Against Wildfires includes Operation Biome Guardians. The strategy will have some 6 thousand agents engaged in the preventing, repressing, and investigating such occurrences.
According to Justice Minister Anderson Torres, all states plus the Federal Districts will offer specialized professionals to join the operation in support of the states where the situation is most critical. In exchange, the payment of the agents’ daily fees and the coordination and integration of agencies will fall under the responsibility of the federal government. The crackdown is to kick off according to the demand in each state from August to November.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the states of Acre, Amazonas, Amapá, Maranhão, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, Tocantins, and Goiás will be the focus of the plan.
“With the combined efforts and integration between the federal government and the states, we will show the world that Brazil is engaged in the preservation of its biomes. This is a commitment made by the Jair Bolsonaro administration and we are carrying out this unprecedented action involving three ministries and all our states in support of the biomes of the Amazon, the Cerrado, and the Pantanal,” the justice minister declared.
During the launch ceremony, Environment Minister Joaquim Álvaro stated that the joint action “will be effective in fighting crimes, especially those linked to wildfire.”
