The Institute of Man and the Environment of the Amazon (imazon), released a document entitled “Is the Judiciary punishing illegal deforesters in the Amazon? – Results of the Amazônia Protege program".
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The study analyzed the results of processes filed between 2017 and 2020 within Amazônia Protege, a Federal Public Ministry program created to hold illegal deforesters accountable.
The survey showed that, during this period, 3.561 lawsuits were filed by Amazônia Protege in the nine states that make up the Legal Amazon. These actions aim to hold illegal deforesters responsible for the felling of 231.456 hectares of forest, with compensation claims totaling R$3,7 billion.
Of the more than 3 thousand cases filed, only 650 public civil actions (18%) had received a ruling in the first instance by October 2020.
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Of this number, only 51 cases (8%) effectively punished deforesters and only two actions (out of 51) resulted in convictions with compensation that were actually paid, an amount totaling around R$42 thousand.
The report also identified that higher courts were in favor of the use of technology, confirming the legality of evidence obtained remotely, such as satellite images. Such mechanisms can accelerate accountability processes and, therefore, change the course of impunity for crimes committed in the Amazon.
Curto Curatorship:
- O Amazon Protects is a program created by the MPF to hold illegal deforesters accountable through public civil actions (ACPs). Its main innovation is the use of evidence obtained remotely by crossing information from official databases and satellite images identifying deforestation, without the need for field inspection.
- Deforestation in the Amazon breaks new record
