Brazil and the United States have joined forces to fight the illegal export of timber from the Amazon

Piles of wood are found in Abu Dhabi (AM) during the operation of federal agents fighting illegal logging.

By Lisandra Paraguay

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Brazilian and US governments are working together to fight the illegal export of Amazon trees and other environmental crimes, with US support, especially in the field of intelligence, but also the resources to set up bases. On Amazon.

The conversation about the partnership emerged from a meeting between Justice and Public Safety Minister Anderson Torres and Environment Minister Joachim Leid and John Kerry, the White House Special Adviser on the Environment, on Thursday.

According to Torres, the details of the collaboration are not yet defined. A technical meeting should be scheduled in the coming weeks to begin designing the collaboration model.

“If we start working together, I think this cooperation will include intelligence and information exchange, the investigation of these tree paths. Illegal ways, buyers,” the justice minister told Reuters.

The meeting with Kerry dealt with a variety of topics in Brazilian environmental policy, but focused on providing the White House adviser on policies to combat organized crime in the region – including illegal logging and selling, but also mining and other crimes.

Torres argues that the initial action should be the police and that the United States can cooperate in many areas.

“I am ready. If they want to do serious work in the region, they have to work with the Central Police, with the Armed Forces, they have to talk to us,” he said.

“At the next meeting we were left to discuss the details and the type of cooperation. In my view I think they should help with everything, but it is not resolved yet.

Illegal export of timber is considered one of the starting points for deforestation in the Amazon. Noble trees, with commercial appeal, are first removed for sale abroad with forged documents, paving the way for a second phase of removal of less noble trees until clear clearance is reached to convert them into grazing land.

A few years ago, the US government began to focus more on the entry of trees into the country and was responsible for seizing the exported timber with the wrong export guides, which led to an action. Sold as parts and came from approved exploitation areas.

The Brazilian government’s fee for foreign investment in the area explored on the Amazon is outdated. When the United States launched a new environmental initiative in 2021, then-Environment Minister Ricardo Saul presented a plan in which he asked for $ 1 billion to protect the legitimate Amazon, part of which was precisely explored.

But, the plan was not accepted. The US government at the time wanted additional indicators of Brazil’s commitment to deforestation. Among them, the reduction of codes. But, so far this has not happened.