Exclusive: First Brazil logging raids under Lula aim to curb Amazon deforestation - Reuters Canada

URUARA, Brazil, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Brazilian biology agents chopped done the rainforest with machetes connected Thursday successful hunt of criminals successful the archetypal anti-deforestation raids nether President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has pledged to extremity surging demolition inherited from his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.

Reuters exclusively accompanied raids led by biology bureau Ibama successful the rainforest authorities of Para to halt loggers and ranchers illegally clearing the forest.

The bureau besides launched raids this week successful the states of Roraima and Acre, Ibama biology enforcement coordinator Tatiane Leite said.

About 10 Ibama agents acceptable retired successful pickup trucks connected Thursday from their basal successful the municipality of Uruara, Pará, on with a twelve national police, heading toward a clump of points wherever outer images showed loggers and ranchers precocious astatine enactment clearing the wood illegally.

In 12 hours driving connected ungraded roads illegally crisscrossing an indigenous reserve, the convoy reached 5 areas that were deforested and burned astir the clip of past October’s predetermination that pitted Lula against Bolsonaro.

The areas each laic wrong the Cachoeira Seca indigenous reserve, wherever deforestation is strictly prohibited.

Four of the tracts appeared to beryllium subsequently abandoned, with nary signs radical were surviving adjacent oregon successful the process of turning them into ranches. Agents said it could beryllium a motion that amerciable ranchers gave up connected investing clip and wealth successful turning amerciable onshore into productive pasture, knowing that Lula campaigned connected a pledge to ace down connected deforestation.

“People cognize that successful this authorities enforcement volition tighten and won’t fto them usage an country they deforested illegally,” said Givanildo dos Santos Lima, the cause starring Ibama's Uruara mission.

“If the different authorities had won, you would person recovered radical here, well-maintained pastures and cattle.”

The authorities nether Bolsonaro had gutted unit and backing for biology enforcement by Ibama successful his 4 years successful office, portion the erstwhile president criticized Ibama for issuing fines to farmers and miners.

Bolsonaro gave the subject and aboriginal the Justice Ministry authorization implicit operations to combat deforestation, sidelining Ibama contempt the agency's extended experience and occurrence successful warring the demolition of the Amazon.

An country larger than Denmark was deforested nether Bolsonaro, a 60% summation from the anterior 4 years.

In different country of the reserve, agents recovered a recently built location with respective chainsaws and stocked with weeks of food, indicating the occupants had apt fled conscionable earlier Ibama’s arrival.

Flanked by constabulary with semiautomatic weapons, Ibama agents hacked a way done the adjacent jungle to scope an country the size of 57 shot fields strewn with downed trees and charged trunks.

Some messily planted maize sprouted up to knee-level successful what appeared to beryllium an effort to laic assertion to the country to yet crook it into cattle pasture, the agents said.

“We’ll travel backmost with a chopper and drawback them by surprise,” Lima said.

He was optimistic that Ibama would beryllium capable to behaviour much raids nether Lula, aimed astatine fining deforesters and spooking criminals from attempting to wide much areas.

Lula connected the run way past twelvemonth pledged to enactment Ibama backmost successful complaint of combating deforestation with beefed-up backing and personnel. He took bureau connected Jan. 1, truthful further wealth and unit person yet to scope the front-line enforcers.

Bolsonaro's authorities denied respective requests by Reuters to travel Ibama missions during his 2019-2022 administration. His authorities instituted a gag bid forbidding Ibama agents from speaking to the press, which agents accidental has already been reversed.

Lula took bureau for the archetypal clip successful 2003 erstwhile Amazon deforestation was adjacent all-time highs, and done strict enforcement of biology laws reduced it by 72% to a adjacent grounds debased erstwhile helium near bureau successful 2010.

Reporting by Jake Spring; Editing by Brad Haynes, Mark Porter and Leslie Adler

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.