Firefighting in Brazil not to be affected by US decision
Brazil’s environment authority Ibama said in a statement Tuesday (Feb. 11) that the suspension of financial aid from the US should have no direct impact on the fight against forest fires in Brazil. The statement comes after US President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend all international assistance for 90 days by decree, in order to assess “programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy.”
Among the initiatives funded by the US government in Brazil is the Forest Management and Fire Prevention Program, run by the US Forest Service in conjunction with Ibama and other Brazilian agencies. The funds come from a partnership between the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The move, Ibama reported has caused technical issues “due to the interruption of actions that could contribute to the restructuring of Brazilian institutions, particularly concerning the training of professionals.”
The activities and meetings already scheduled are still being evaluated, Ibama went on to state, by the institutions involved in the program and are being maintained or rescheduled at the discretion of each agency, without the participation of the US Forest Service.
The Brazilian authority points out that the efforts to prevent and combat wildfire in the country “are being implemented with funds from the federal budget and do not depend on external resources.”
