A atuação de organizações criminosas na exploração ilegal de madeira como principal vetor do desmatamento da Amazônia

Abstract

Illegal logging in Brazil began in the 15th century. During the colonial period, the death penalty was applied to punish the illegal logging and trafficking of brazilwood. More than 400 years later, the illegal demand for timber is still a problem yet to be solved, in the Atlantic Forest and now in the Amazon. After the 1988 Brazilian Constitution, several mandatory (laws, decrees, regulations, etc.) and non-mandatory (contracts, certifications, etc.) documents were updated to prevent deforestation while promoting sustainable forest management. Deforestation in the Amazon has been economically innocuous for the region because historically, it has contributed very little (~8%) to the Brazilian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but it also accounts for approximately 60% of the total national emissions of greenhouse gases. This work aims to clarify what were the causes of deforestation in the Amazon in the last decade, in order to enable an efficient assessment of the problem and scope it poses for the State, Brazilian society and for the international community. Four Federal Police operations were used as part of a case study, namely: “Operação Salmo 96:12” (Roraima, 2012), “Ferro e Fogo” (Maranhão, 2015), “Operação Canafístula” (Maranhão, 2020) and “Operação Arquimedes” (Amazonas, 2017-2019). Documents were also analyzed (especially the administrative processes of governmental agencies that authorize deforestation), databases (SICAR, SISDOF, SINAFLOR), satellite images, reflection profiles of NDVI (Index of Vegetation by Normalized Difference), expert reports and information from the municipalities of Rorainópolis, Roraima (RR); Apuí, Amazonas (AM); Grajaú, Maranhão (MA); Centro Norte do Maranhão, Maranhão (MA); Colniza, Mato Grosso (MT) and Altamira, Pará (PA). From 2010 to the present, it was observed that in Apuí, AM and Rorainópolis, RR, the correlations between deforestation and cattle stocks were low, with negative correlation coefficients (r = -0.31 and r = -0.03, respectively). For the same time period, in Grajaú, MA the correlation coefficient was also low, but positive (r = 0.20). Such correlations are an extraordinarily strong indication that deforestation does not necessarily mean the conversion of forest to pasture or agriculture. The NDVI history (post 2010) obtained from SATVeg (EMBRAPA) in areas located in Rorainópolis, RR, Centro Novo do Maranhão, MA, Grajaú, MA, Altamira, PA, Colniza, MT and Apuí, AM) show areas of dense forest replaced by “disturbed” or totally degraded areas, in which no signs of implementation of any economic activity were found. These findings were also verified through the analysis of optical images. Despite that, administrative processes authorized deforestation under the guise of agricultural production that in some instances were non-existent. As a result, the Document of Forest Origin (DOF) was born. The DOF has been used to legitimize safe-conduct to transport illegal wood to other Brazilian regions as well as to other countries. It was observed and concluded in the analyzed documents: i.) the exploitation of Amazonian wood is, for the most part, controlled by criminal organizations, through the corruption of public agents and large-scale document fraud to “legalize” illegal wood; ii.) reduced correspondence between deforestation and agriculture; iii.) strong correlation between roundwood production and deforestation; iv.) countries in Europe and North America are major importers of illegal Brazilian timber. The preservation of the Amazon requires science and governance. More specifically, it warrants a well-structured law enforcement and environmental agencies, with legal guarantees, to independently exercise their constitutionally foreseen mission.