The Government of Mato Grosso launched 28 operations in the first two months of 2024 to combat environmental crimes and imposed R$2.3 million in fines. The actions were coordinated by the State Secretariat for the Environment (Sema-MT), in partnership with the Military Police (PMMT) and the Military Police Battalion for Environmental Protection (BPMPA).
Between January and February, inspection teams embargoed 16 thousand hectares against illegal deforestation. Sema responded to 372 deforestation alerts and issued 660 infraction notices.
During this period, 27 tractors, 24 conveyors, 9 trucks and 7 vehicles were seized. 2 excavators, 2 dredgers or rafts, 13 tools and accessories.
Of the assessments carried out between January and March 2023, 45% were carried out remotely and 55% on site. In addition to the Inspection Superintendence (SUF), Sema’s 9 Deconcentrated Unit Directorates (DUD) also coordinated operations against environmental crimes.
Minor in the last 6 years
Data from the Institute of Man and the Environment of the Amazon (Imazon), released last week, showed that deforestation in the Amazon in the first two months of 2024 ended with the lowest forest clearing in the last six years, since 2018.
According to Imazon’s Deforestation Alert System (SAD), in Mato Grosso the reduction in deforestation was 74%, when comparing the months of January and February 2024 with the same period in 2023. In the first two months of 2023, Mato Grosso had 242 km2 of forest area cut down, while in 2024 this sum fell to 63 km2.
In the assessment of the State’s Executive Secretary for the Environment (Sema-MT), Alex Marega, the results are very positive for the entire Legal Amazon and, mainly, for Mato Grosso, which is among the states that have most reduced deforestation in the biome. .
“It was a reduction of almost 180 km² of deforestation, a significant drop of 74%. For a state with the territorial dimension of Mato Grosso, this only reinforces that we are on the right path, to reduce deforestation in a concentrated effort by the Government of Mato Grosso to act with zero tolerance against environmental infractions”, he highlighted.
Operation Amazon
Operation Amazônia was put into practice by state and federal agencies, under the coordination of Sema. Since the beginning of management, investments in actions to combat deforestation and forest fires total more than R$240 million.
The teams are assisted by real-time satellite monitoring equipment across the entire territory of Mato Grosso and maintain continuous surveillance in the location where environmental crime is identified.
The tool, contracted by REM, acts preventively, minimizes damage, increases response speed, facilitates accountability and allows the area to be embargoed immediately through daily monitoring and weekly deforestation alerts.
Agents also seize and remove machinery caught in use for crime, ensuring accountability, as the seizure of assets promotes the decapitalization of the offender.
Reports
Environmental crimes must be reported to the Sector Ombudsman’s Office of the State Secretariat for the Environment, on 0800 065 3838, via the MT Cidadão app or at one of Sema’s regional offices.
Anyone who comes across an environmental crime can also report it to the Military Police, on 190.
Source: MT – MT Government
Tags: Environmental Conciliation Task Force starts Monday #1st
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