Federal Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino has urged the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) to disclose which funds have already been allocated and what the projected budget is for combating illegal deforestation and fires in the Amazon and Pantanal regions this year. This request followed a statement from the Federal Police (PF) indicating they require R$256.8 million to continue their environmental crime-fighting efforts.
“Primarily, it is the responsibility of the higher echelons of the Federal Executive Power to carry out the necessary discretionary analyses regarding the already allocated resources and any additional needs, including from various sources such as the National Public Security Fund, Amazon Fund, and the Fund for the Defense of Diffuse Rights,” the minister wrote in a memo.
He ordered officials to prepare the data to be presented at a hearing on the subject scheduled for March 13. He claims the data is essential to determine the necessary steps for swift and accurate compliance with the Federal Supreme Court’s directives to address the situation.
“Initially, the actions of the Federal Police appear essential for meeting the goals of this structural process, investigating past environmental crimes, and preventing future serious incidents detrimental to Article 225 of the Federal Constitution. It is noted that combating environmental crime in the Amazon and Pantanal is intertwined with addressing other types of crime, mainly due to the cross-sectional and integrated operations of criminal factions in these regions,” Mr. Dino wrote.
The document submitted to the STF was signed by the PF Director-General Andrei Rodrigues. Senior PF members believe preventive measures are necessary, particularly to avoid a new “wildfire pandemic.” There is significant concern about Brazil’s image, given that the country will host the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP30, this year.
The memo outlines five operational fronts of the PF related to the so-called Plano Amas, aimed at the legislated Brazilian boundaries of the Amazon, and states that “fighting environmental crime effectively” will depend on the “availability of budgetary and financial resources to the PF.” According to the document, it is “essential” that the requested resources “are not subject to contingency limitations nor restricted by fiscal ceilings and targets, given the severe climate crisis affecting the world and consequently all of Brazil.”
Of this total, approximately R$16 million would be used for preventive actions to be implemented starting in April, to block wildfires from spreading across different regions of the country. Last year, the PF’s efforts were more reactive, launching numerous investigations into suspected arson.
“The prior planning and coordination carried out by the PF in combating criminal fires aim to mitigate the imminent risk of the ‘Severe Wildfire and Drought Pandemic in the Amazon and Pantanal’ that occurred in 2024. To operationalize the planning of these integrated public security actions, R$16,428,960 is required to fund operational activities,” the PF stated.
The PF also noted that R$6.4 million is necessary to ensure the “full operation” of the International Police Cooperation Center of the Amazon (CCPI-Amazônia) for 2025, with activities set to begin in April.
According to the memo, funds for conducting integrated operations in the region, totaling R$18.4 million, are also still pending.
Meanwhile, resources for combating drug trafficking in the region are estimated at R$117.2 million, and those to make actions for the protection of indigenous lands permanent exceed R$98.2 million.
Volunteer firefighters of a Quilombo community in Kalunga, Goiás, try to contain wildfires in Brazil’s Pantal wetland region — Foto: Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil