The ecology of actors responsible for preventing and responding to environmental crimes in Brazil is going through a process of pulverization. Whilst the country is experiencing record rates of deforestation, the federal government dismantles the institutions responsible for environmental protection.
In addition to successive budget cuts and personnel reduction, there are frequent attempts to delegitimize data and scientific analysis as well as the excessive appointment, for middle and high-ranking positions, of civil servants who do not have technical knowledge in the environmental area. Public statements by authorities in favor of loosening enforcement and failure to collect fines for environmental violations also encourage impunity for environmental crimes.
Against this background, Plataforma CIPÓ hosted on April 13, 2021 the webinar: “Beyond the ‘Scorched Earth’: How to develop a purposeful agenda to fight environmental crimes in Brazil?”.
The event brought together representatives of civil society to discuss possible strategies for strengthening the resilience of Brazilian environmental institutions in the face of the dismantling of these organizations promoted by the federal government.
This report contains the interventions of the six speakers at the event in response to questions asked by the CIPÓ Platform.
The first round table, called “Beyond the State: Short term priorities for the prevention and response to environmental crimes in Brazil”, sought to identify what can be done by civil society, in partnership with actors from the private and financial sector and the international community to, in the short term, stop the dismantling of environmental agencies being promoted by Brazil’s federal government.
The second session,“Building back better: the future of Brazil’s climate governance”, debated what measures can be taken by relevant actors to allow, in the medium to long term, Brazil’s climate and environmental governance to be built back better.
