Operation Green Brazil 2

Summary No. 1 – 18th May 2020

Hamilton Mourão, Vice President of Brazil and Chair of the National Council for the Legal Amazon, has determined that from this date onward, one week after the launch of Operation Green Brazil 2, the results of the initiatives aimed at combating deforestation and preventing fires in the Amazon will be published weekly, in principle.

The surprise operations were launched in the early morning of 11^th May in federal areas. Local state governments showed interest in joining the operations. Staff from the following organisations have been deployed in Operation Green Brazil 2: the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) and the Chico Mendes Biodiversity Conservation Institute (ICMBio), both belonging to the Ministry of the Environment; the Federal Police, the Federal Highways Police and the National Public Security Force, which are part of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security; and the Armed Forces, which deployed personnel and resources to provide logistics support and security to the environmental inspection agencies, under the coordination of the Ministry of Defence.

The operations were undertaken in parallel with the efforts of the Brazilian Government in fighting the Covid-10 pandemic, which also involved the deployment of significant resources by the Armed Forces in logistics support and delivering health care supplies to institutions all over Brazil’s vast territory.

During the current phase of Operation Green Brazil 2, it is estimated that the Armed Forces will be engaging 3,815 (three thousand, eight hundred and fifteen) troops, 110 (one hundred and ten) vehicles, 20 (twenty) vessels and 12 (twelve) aircraft, organised into three Joint Commands: Príncipe de Beira, Marechal Soares de Andréa and  Barão de Melgaço, acting from the priority operational bases deployed in  Porto Velho, in the State of Rondônia; in Marabá, in the State of Pará; and in Cuiabá, in the State of Mato Grosso, respectively. The area covered by the three joint commands, at a distance of thousands of kilometres from each other, comprises an area of over 210,000 square kilometres.

Among the first results of the operations currently under way, we can report that the environmental agencies have been investigating cases of illegal transport, forgery of virtual credits; illegal timber extraction, packaging and storage; and forgery of documentation and permits. Further concrete outcomes achieved until yesterday 17^th May include: the apprehension of 23 (twenty-three) excavator machines, one lorry, one Hilux pick-up vehicle, 7 (seven) mining sieves, 5 (five) vessels, 11(eleven) chainsaws, weapons and munition, and 206 (two hundred and six) kilograms of cocaine base paste. As expected, these results lead to a significant reduction of environmental crimes in the region.

All Operation Green Brazil 2 actions are pursued with utmost care so as to ensure theprotection ofthe indigenous population and villages, which are obviously more exposed to the Covid-19 pandemic. As part of ensuring effective care to the indigenous population, the government issued guidance to the participating staff on the use of personal protective equipment and instructed them to limit their contacts to what is strictly necessary. These measures were adopted in close coordination withthe Special Indigenous Health Care Secretariat, which has been following the situation of the indigenous village population closely throughout Brazil.

The operation to ensure law and order (known as “GLO” under Brazilian law) is estimated to remain in force until 10^th June, and it may be extended for a longer period, should it be required. However, what is most important is the determination of this Government to carry out continuous actions in order to fight environmental crimes in the region until the end of 2022. By that date, it is expected that the structures of the federal inspection agencies, which have been affected by retirements and budgetary restrictions, will have been restructured and reinvigorated in order to carry out their permanent duties. This restructuring will also include the protection accorded by the new Brazilian National Environmental Force, thus rendering support from the Armed Forces unnecessary.

It is worth noting that most of the population supports the action of the federal forces in the area; furthermore, for the purpose of keeping the population informed about the actions of the Federal Government, the Vice President of Brazil has launched a weekly radio programme entitled ‘Por Dentro da Amazônia’ - Inside the Amazon  broadcast every Monday at 9 am and 8.30 pm on the Brazilian National Radio Broadcasting networks (‘Rádio Nacional Brasil’ - AM 980 Khz).

Also in the past week, the Vice President chaired two press conferences: one to the national press, attended by various Brazilian news media organisations and another, in the form of a teleconference, to journalists and foreign correspondents from the international press.

Vice President Hamilton Mourão will remain available to provide information and clarifications regarding the actions of the Federal Government for the benefit of the protection, conservation and sustainable development of the Amazon via the Executive Secretariat of the Amazon Council.

Brasília, Federal District, 18^th May 2020

SÉRGIO PAULO MUNIZ COSTA

Head of the Press Office of the Office of the Vice President