Operação da Polícia Federal e o IBAMA contra o garimpo ilegal expulsa invasores de terras indígenas

Brazilian Federal Police Operation Against Illegal Mining Expels Invaders from Indigenous Lands and Attempts to Protect Alter do Chão (PA) Police raided a group that was polluting the Tapajós River and had a large infrastructure: in addition to powerful machines, they even had a supermarket in the jungle to serve the miners. This week, Fantástico followed a mega-operation by the Federal Police, dubbed "Amazonian Caribbean," against illegal mining in the Amazon. The operation destroyed heavy machinery used by the miners and found facilities with infrastructure, including a church and even a supermarket in the middle of the jungle. A report by the Federal Police concluded that illegal mining and deforestation caused water contamination in Alter do Chão, Pará – considered the Amazonian Caribbean. Backhoes were found. The logistics of seizing these machines and removing them from the mining area are expensive, time-consuming, and risky. Therefore, all equipment found within protected areas is destroyed on the spot. From the motors that pump water from the pits to the fuel that powers this machinery – which causes destruction at an alarming rate. "Artisanal Mining" Two presidential decrees published this week may facilitate the licensing of what they define as "artisanal and small-scale" mining. But can an activity that uses equipment costing up to R$1 million and causes damage on an industrial scale be called artisanal? According to the decree, artisanal mining is the activity governed by Law 7.805 of 1989. This law, which created the artisanal mining permit system, does not mention artisanal mining. However, it establishes that, to receive a permit, the area exploited cannot exceed 50 hectares, "except when granted to a cooperative of artisanal miners." In the statement, the ministry affirms that artisanal mining is "recognized worldwide by the term 'Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining'; in this sense, the program is intended for the extraction of mineable mineral substances, developed in accordance with Law No. 7,805, of July 18, 1989." The priority area of ​​operation for the program will be the Legal Amazon region, which encompasses the states of Rondônia, Acre, Amazonas, Roraima, Pará, Amapá, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, and Maranhão. According to the decree, among the program's objectives are: To integrate and strengthen sectoral, social, economic, and environmental policies for the development of artisanal and small-scale mining activity in the national territory; To encourage best practices, the formalization of the activity, and the promotion of health, assistance, and dignity of people involved in artisanal and small-scale mining; and Promote synergy among stakeholders involved in the mineral production chain. “These two decrees aim to encourage mining in the Amazon, reaffirming mining, even when done on an industrial scale with heavy equipment, as artisanal mining. Activities in southern Pará will continue, right? And, in a way, the government is now providing an incentive for them to increase throughout the Amazon. This is very worrying,” says Raoni Rajão, professor of Environmental Management at UFMG. The government says the decrees are important for improving the quality of life in the region. "One of the main objectives of the policy is precisely to bring about best practices, formalization, regulation of the activity, and integration of environmental and social policies. Sustainable and modern mining brings preservation; it reconciles a development vector that is extremely relevant for isolated communities with environmental preservation," says Pedro Paulo Dias, Secretary of Geology and Mining at the Ministry of Mines and Energy. The responsibility for sustainable development would lie with the miner himself. “The wordplay in the decrees hides the destruction that is happening in the Amazon. We analyzed all the municipalities in the Legal Amazon that were exposed to gold and diamond mining, and the socioeconomic indicators that are important, such as health, education, and GDP per capita, showed no improvement,” says Larissa Rodrigues of the Escolhas Institute. Federal Police Superintendency in Pará - SR/PF/PA   / pf.para   Operational Aviation Command (CAOP) of the Federal Police (PF)🗡️🦅🚁   / grifo_caop     / operadoresaerotaticos   Specialized Bomb and Explosives Group (GBE) of the Federal Police (PF)🧨💣💥   / pfgbe   Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) https://www.gov.br/ibama/pt-br   / ibamagov     / ibama.gov.br   Specialized Inspection Group (GEF)   / gefibama   Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) https://www.gov.br/icmbio/pt-br   / icmbio     / icmbio