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BRASÍLIA – The Federal Public Ministry and the Federal Police have sought cooperation with European countries to identify companies that import illegal wood from Brazil and be punished. Responsible for the Archimedes operation, which has dismantled an illegal timber export network from the AmazonThe lawyer Leonardo Galiano affirms that the countries that buy illegal wood are not the countries, but the companies installed in them.
“Several companies from European countries participate. It is not a country that buys from another country. It is the company that will manufacture furniture, floors and ends up acquiring this input. They are woods with very high added value ”, Galiano said to Status.
The Brazilian timber market has historically been marked by illegality. There are no precise figures on the magnitude of criminal activities in the sector, but it is estimated that up to 90% of the wood that leaves the country is the product of irregular extraction.
In addition to seeking international cooperation with Europe to sanction importing companies, negotiations have also been carried out and are in progress with the United States. Researchers have tried to share evidence and establish joint teams.
In 2017, in the 1st phase of the Archimedes operation, 10,000 m³ of wood were seized, a volume that, if aligned, would cover the route between Brasilia and Belém (1,500 km). The cargo would go to other states and countries in North America, Asia and Europe.
In April of last year, the Federal Justice of Amazonas authorized the exchange of evidence of the operation, the largest ever carried out in the country, with the United States Department of Justice. The agreement, requested by the Public Ministry of the Federation, was aimed at allowing the repatriation of illegally exported wood.
The expectation is that the same will happen with Europe. “What we have noticed is that the United States, through the Department of Justice, and the equivalent agency to Ibama, have had a great interaction. The big message is this: the United States has been speaking to us, ”said the prosecutor.
Head of Operation Archimedes since 2017, when the investigations began, Galiano noted that sustainable timber management has been used as a backdrop for illegal operations in the Amazon. “There is no social, economic and much less environmental return. We have noticed significant deforestation, without criteria and without returns to Brazil. A great usurpation of the national territory ”, he confirmed.
All the controversy arose on Tuesday 17, when President Jair Bolsonaro said that he will reveal “in the coming days” the list of countries that buy illegal timber from the Amazon. In a speech at the BRICS summit, a group that brings together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Bolsonaro said he saw “unjustifiable attacks” suffered by Brazil in relation to the Amazon region. According to the president, some nations critical of his government also illegally import wood from the Amazon.
“In the next few days, we will reveal the names of the countries that import this illegal wood of ours, across the vastness that is the Amazon region,” Bolsonaro promised at the BRICS summit.. “Because then yes, we will be showing that these countries, some of them that many criticize us, have part of the responsibility in this matter,” he amended.
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