Dino demands information from the AGU on fighting fires in the Pantanal and the Amazon

Minister Flávio Dino, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), presented this Tuesday, the 3rd, a list of nine questions that the federal government needs to answer about the work of combating environmental crimes in the Pantanal and the Amazon.

The questions were sent to the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) so that the data can be presented at the public hearing that will take place next week to debate the situation in the region.

Representatives from the Ministries of Justice, Environment, Indigenous Peoples and Agrarian Development are expected at the meeting.

Among the information requested by Flávio Dino are data on programs to prevent environmental crimes and monitor vegetation levels. The minister wants to know the status of the National Center for the Prevention and Combat of Forest Fires (Prevfogo) and also how information is exchanged with the states. He also asks that the government present an assessment of the first initiatives put into practice to combat the spread of fires in the Pantanal and the Amazon.

Last week, Dino ordered the deployment of agents from the Armed Forces, the Federal Police, the Federal Highway Police, the National Force and environmental inspection to act “in a repressive and preventive manner” in the region. He also suggested that, if necessary, the government open extraordinary credits to fund emergency actions.

See the list of questions sent by Dino to the AGU:

1 – Is a fire-fighting plan being created and implemented in the Pantanal and Amazon and what measures are currently being adopted?

2 – What measures were adopted to recover the operational capacity of the National Center for the Prevention and Fight against Forest Fires (Prevfogo)? What was the operational staff before the trial of this action, which took place on 03/21/2024, and what is the current staff? Is there a forecast for an increase in staff in the coming years?

3 – Is there a national system that integrates federal and state data on vegetation removal authorizations? In what format should the data be made available by the states to enable integration? Which states do not provide the data in the required format?

4 – What are the territorial management systems that currently exist in the federal government? What is the current stage of integration of these systems? Which body or governance structure is responsible for integrating the systems?

5 – How does the Government intend to integrate the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) with other systems to complement and validate data in order to allow the processing and validation of information? What are the current figures regarding the implementation of the CAR, specifying the situation in the Amazon and the Pantanal?

6 – Is a report on the actions and results of the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAM) being published? If so, in what medium and location?

7 – How many staff were employed by each of the target Ministries (Defense, Justice and Public Security, and Environment) in directly fighting fires in the Amazon and Pantanal on July 30, 2024? And on August 30? What was the percentage increase or reduction? What are the reasons for such change or maintenance?

8 – How does the federal government calculate the extent of the fires in the Amazon and Pantanal in 2023 and 2024? What are the numbers?

9 – How are resources from the General Budget of the Union and the Amazon Fund being effectively applied to the implementation of the PPCDAM in 2023 and 2024?