STATE OF THE RAINFOREST 2014
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Confiscated timber
On 2 June 2005, three months into implementation of the
plan, the first of a series of mega-operations against illegal
logging, deforestation and land-grabbing was conducted. It
brought dozens of people to prison in one day, including civil
servants. By the end of 2009, more than 700 persons had been
imprisoned and over one million cubic meters of timber had
been confiscated. Crucial to the success of these command and
control operations was the involvement of the federal police,
the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and for operational and logistic
support, the armed forces.
Also in 2005, the Brazilian Space Agency INPE launched its
System for Detection of Deforestation in Real Time (DETER). Its
monthly/ fortnightly information on pockets of deforestation
significantly reduced the response time for law enforcement
agencies to arrive at deforestation locations. In 2008 INPE
launched a system for the detection of forest degradation
(DEGRAD); which indicates areas at high risk of deforestation,
thereby stimulating preventive actions. Especially important
have been the transparency and openness that INPE provided
regarding the data, which allowed the media and civil society to
follow the issue closely. This process included the creation of
independent monitoring systems, like the SAD system developed
by the non-governmental organization Imazon.
Parallel to the strengthened law enforcement and improved monitoring,
extensive efforts were initiated for the demarcation of indigenous
territories and the creation of protected areas. Between 2005 and 2008
more than 500,000 km
2
of federal and state-level protected areas were
created, more than 130,000 km
2
were declared indigenous territories,
and another 170,000 km
2
of existing territories were granted final legal
recognition. Reducing the amount of unassigned public forests in
the Amazon served to reduce the speculation value of the land, and
consequently the incentive for deforestation.
Between 2008 and 2009 there came strong pressures for relaxing the
fight against deforestation. The level, which had dropped from 27 to
about 11,000 km
2
stopped falling and threatened to increase. Then
the second phase of PPCDAM was initiated, aimed at breaking the
economic chain that upholds deforestation.
Municipalities with the highest deforestation rates in the region had
their access to rural credits restricted. That forced them to reduce
deforestation and initiate environmental regulation of rural properties
in order to regain access to credits. Also a ‘trade restriction’ was
established for illegally deforested areas, holding every link in the
supply chain responsible if they acquired products from the restricted
areas. During the same period pilots for creating a Rural Environmental
Register that separated the issue of environmental compliance from
the issue of confirmed land tenure, was initiated. This connection had
