In the 2003-2011 administration of President Luiz Inŕcio Lula da Silva, Brazil developed a multi-agency plan to slow Amazon deforestation that worked well, according to virtually all observers. That ended in 2012 when the government of his successor, Dilma Rousseff, pardoned illegal deforestation prior to 2008, among other measures that emboldened violators. Many believe Mr. Bolsonaro will issue new pardons. In 2019, the first year of the Mr. Bolsonaro presidency, that shrank to 7,148. That alone would allow IBAMA to find who owns the land and hold them accountable - which is not happening under the army, agency veterans said.

Source: The Hindu August 28, 2020 04:52 UTC