CONTEXTUALIZATION

Since the creation of the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm), Brazil has managed to significantly reduce deforestation rates in the Amazon. PPCDAm is structured around four pillars: land-use and land-tenure planning; environmental monitoring and control; promotion of sustainable productive activities; and economic and regulatory instruments. The development of the Plan involved collaboration among several ministries, as well as representatives from civil society and Amazonian states, with its implementation coordinated by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA).

IBAMA is one of the main institutions in the Federal Government’s strategy to combat deforestation. According to the evaluation of PPCDAm’s second phase, it was concluded that the reduction in deforestation was mainly due to enforcement actions carried out by the agency, which were intensified starting in 2004.

To carry out enforcement activities, appropriate means of transportation are required for operations in the Amazon region, such as 4x4 pickup trucks for land-based actions and helicopters for aerial operations. Historically, IBAMA had these resources and successfully executed its enforcement actions. However, in recent years, the agency’s budget has been constrained due to the country’s fiscal situation.

THE PROJECT

The project is a continuation of the previous support of the Amazon Fund to the agency (Project: Empowering Environmental Monitoring and Control in Order to Combat Illegal Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon) and aims to guarantee the inspection actions of IBAMA, with a total budget of R$ 140,264,000.00 from the Amazon Fund, which will be used to ensure adequate means of transport for the surveillance actions.

The activities are concentrated in regions that suffer greater deforestation pressure, according to alerts issued by the DETER system, among others. The operation is carried out through the rental of vans and helicopters to be used in the field inspection actions.

It should be noted that the project is part of the exemption established by the Amazon Fund Guidance Committee (COFA) (as stated in the document "Amazon Fund's Support Focuses in 2017 and 2018") regarding the conditionality of additionality of resources for "projects that aim to continue or improve environmental monitoring and control of deforestation, presented by federal or state agencies or public institutions with legal mandate to carry out enforcement actions."

INTERVENTION LOGIC 

The project was part of Component 2, “Monitoring and Control,” of the Amazon Fund’s Logical Framework. The resources provided by the Amazon Fund aimed to ensure the availability of vehicles and helicopters for environmental monitoring and enforcement activities in the Amazon, thereby providing IBAMA with the operational structure needed to carry out actions to suppress environmental violations.

IBAMA is one of the country’s main environmental institutions, responsible, among other duties, for licensing most large-scale projects and for significant environmental enforcement and deforestation control actions in Brazil.

Command-and-control actions carried out by IBAMA have been considered key factors in reducing deforestation rates in the Amazon. Through this project, logistical resources were made available for new enforcement operations across the entire Legal Amazon (with a stronger focus on regions within the deforestation arc), ensuring that human activities comply with environmental legislation and, consequently, promoting forest conservation.

ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED

The purpose of the project was to strengthen environmental control and monitoring in order to increase the deterrent effect against environmental violations and influence the reduction of deforestation rates in the Amazon. This strengthening was achieved by providing logistics (vehicles and aircraft) for monitoring and for the land and air transportation of enforcement teams. The rental of vehicles and chartering of aircraft were carried out as planned in the project.

Between April 2018 and December 2022, an average of 172 vehicles per month were employed, and 1,182 environmental enforcement operations were conducted. Regarding flight hours: 11,322.5 hours were projected, and 16,117.7 hours were executed, of which 10,418.624 hours were funded with BNDES resources.

In addition, 22,820 infraction notices were issued, totaling BRL 12,306,012,309.77. Thus, the support provided by the Amazon Fund effectively contributed to enabling operations to combat deforestation in the Legal Amazon.

RESULT AND IMPACT INDICATORS

The project’s activities contributed to results under Component 2 – “Monitoring and Control” – of the Amazon Fund’s Logical Framework.

Direct Outcome 2.1 – IBAMA structured to carry out enforcement actions against environmental violations in the Amazon.

Outcome Indicators

• Number of infraction notices issued for violations against forest resources
  Target: 15,000 | Achieved: 15,201
• Fines applied for violations against forest resources (BRL)
  Target: BRL 4.8 billion | Achieved: BRL 10.98 billion

Output Indicators

• Number of flight hours executed in enforcement or investigation actions and in combating environmental crimes and infractions
  Target: 9,720 | Achieved: 10,418
• Number of environmental enforcement operations carried out
  Target: 399 | Achieved: 1,182
• Number of vehicles rented for environmental enforcement actions
  Target: 181 | Achieved: 172
  (Indicator performed at 95% of the target. There was an increase in flight hours compared to the number of vehicles rented.)
• Number of staff-days employed in environmental enforcement actions
  Target: 29,925 | Achieved: 69,217

From the analysis of indicators related to enforcement actions, it can be inferred that the support provided by the Amazon Fund has effectively contributed to enabling operations to combat deforestation in the Legal Amazon.

Institutional and administrative aspects 

During the project’s implementation period, there was a change in the Directorate of Environmental Protection (DIPRO), with a new director and a new general coordinator of enforcement. However, this change, although it affected the operational dynamics of the directorate, did not impact the project, particularly regarding the use of vehicles and aircraft in enforcement actions.

Risks and lessons learned 

Execution risks were limited to changes in part of the project management and implementation team, although these were occasional. In addition, there were delays in financial reporting due to IBAMA’s internal process flow. It is worth noting that procurement processes were carried out in a timely manner and did not cause delays in execution.

As a lesson learned, we emphasize the importance of having permanent staff to manage and monitor projects.

Sustainability of results

The sustainability of the project depends on budget allocation, as after the end of the funding period, IBAMA has been covering the costs of vehicle and aircraft rental contracts with its own resources and other sources. Therefore, the main risk relates to potential budgetary constraints that IBAMA may face in the future, whether due to financial crises or budget contingencies. So far, these risks have not materialized, and IBAMA has been seeking external funding for other projects related to strengthening enforcement actions, in order to ensure that the approved budget is sufficient to cover land and air transportation for environmental enforcement activities.

The benefits of the project will endure, as enforcement is a necessary tool for deterring environmental crimes and controlling deforestation. Although deforestation rates increased during the project’s implementation period, the causes of this rise are more closely linked to Brazil’s political dynamics than to shortcomings in project execution. It is well known that the causes of illegal deforestation involve multiple variables, such as commodity prices, approval of public policies that either encourage or discourage the clearing of native vegetation, and even the perception of impunity among offenders during the judicial process.

On the other hand, it is also recognized that among the main strategies to combat deforestation in the Amazon, environmental enforcement is one of the factors that influence whether deforestation rates rise or fall. Therefore, support for enforcement actions helped ensure that deforestation rates were not even higher during the project period.