João Ribeiro Capobianco, from the Environment Department, told the STF that it is necessary to hold states and municipalities jointly responsible for fighting fires
The executive secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, João Ribeiro Capobianco, acknowledged this Tuesday (10.Sep.2024) that the federal government’s strategies to combat fires in the Amazon “have proven to be insufficient”. The information is contained in the minutes of a government hearing with STF (Supreme Federal Court) Minister Flávio Dino. Here is the full from the document (PDF) – 365kB).
At the meeting, the secretary demanded that states and municipalities be held jointly responsible for the fires that are spreading across several parts of the country with actions to “punish and deter those who promote” the fire. Capobianco highlighted that, in the current period, “fires do not occur in the Pantanal and the Amazon without human action”.
The hearing was called by the Supreme Federal Court to address this environmental impasse, which already has consequences that go beyond the national territory. The decision was made within the scope of 3 ADPFs (Action for Non-Compliance with Fundamental Precepts) filed by the parties Rede Sustentabilidade, Psol and PT, reported by Dino.
The meeting brought together representatives of the Union, civil society entities and the parties that filed the lawsuits that are being discussed at the STF. Dino is the rapporteur for the lawsuits and chaired the hearing.
DINO ORDERED CALLING OF FIREMEN
The minister determined on Tuesday that all fires in the country must be combated. He ordered the government to call more military firefighters to the National Force to help in the fire control process, with the aim of ensuring that the decision is effectively complied with.
The call must be immediate and the firefighters will come from states whose territory was not directly affected by the fires. The number of firefighters will be decided by the Ministry of Justice and then communicated to the STF.
Dino’s decision to increase the number of firefighters was prompted by information provided by Capobianco that not all fires are currently being fought. Part of the problem stems from the time needed to train volunteer firefighters, according to the minutes of the hearing.
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