Special Report: Brazil’s military fails in key mission - halting Amazon deforestation

 

  "The failure, according to environmental agents who accompanied soldiers during the deployment, was all but inevitable.

The military, they argue, has neither the tools, the mentality, nor the structure to target and pursue those responsible for the destruction. Its primary objective, national defense, shares few similarities with the law-enforcement expertise and forestry know-how required deep in the jungle, they say.

Environmental agents told Reuters that the unwieldy mobilization of soldiers slowed operations and curtailed their ability to catch wrongdoers. Instead of rapid raids with a few 4x4 vehicles and a handful of trained agents, outings with the military required big convoys of slow, heavy vehicles.

Soldiers, one Ibama agent told Reuters, didn’t know what to look for. During one inspection, sawmillers sought to pass off piles of castanheira, a restricted species, as jequitiba, a wood that can be cut legally. “I can identify it,” the agent said, “but a soldier can’t. You need study and practical experience.”

What’s more, many in Brazil’s military, as well as Bolsonaro himself, have historically called for developing the Amazon. They tout the rainforest’s potential as a driver of economic growth and argue that developing the region can help keep covetous foreign powers from using its land, water, and minerals first."

more in the report by Jake Spring
 

Special Report: Brazil’s military fails in key mission - halting Amazon deforestation | Reuters