Ibama seizes cattle in the Amazon and claims to combat deforestation

Cattle ranchers in municipalities in the south of Amazonas have been receiving from Ibama a period of just five days to remove entire herds from embargoed areas. Those who do not comply with the determination may have their cattle seized. So far, at least 2,400 animals have already been expropriated and destined for social programs.

According to Ibama, the operation, entitled “Retomada”, aims to “stop environmental degradation and promote the recovery of the degraded area”. The targets are unregulated lands for the practice of livestock. The operation is a reflection of the change of command in the body under the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

But ranchers are apprehensive and say it is difficult to move thousands of animals hundreds of kilometers in such a short period of time. They fear the apprehension of the cattle and demand land regularization in the areas embargoed by IBAMA.

On the last 5th, the governor of Amazonas, Wilson Lima, appealed to Ibama and said that there will be the possibility for producers to ask the agency for an extension of the deadline. However, the government’s press office did not provide further details on how this process could be carried out.

According to the government of Amazonas, there are 19 areas, including Manicoré and Lábrea, in the south of the state, where the agency has identified infractions and requests compliance with notifications.

According to the notifications received by the ranchers, and shared on social networks, the animals must be removed from the embargoed areas and destined for pasture areas in regularized rural properties. The notifications also require that cattle ranchers inform Ibama in advance about the removal of cattle and their exact destination.

In case of non-compliance, Ibama seizes the herd, based on article 103 of Decree 6,514/2008, which provides that, once cattle are found in an embargoed area, the producer may have his animals seized.

Forest destruction is one of the reasons given by Ibama for embargoing land

In statements made to the local press, the coordinator of “Operação Retomada”, Bruno Barbosa said that it is an action that aims to curb deforestation in the region. Based on satellite images, Ibama has been monitoring the embargoed areas.

“With the satellite images we realized that this deforestation needs to be controlled. The main objective of this operation is to verify compliance with embargoes imposed for forest destruction and which have been breached with the livestock activity”, added the civil servant.

The 2,400 head of cattle seized in the operation had been in the municipality of Manicoré since 2017, according to Barbosa. They were removed from their owners for non-compliance with environmental legislation.

The operation takes place after the change of command at Ibama in the Lula government. The body has been headed since February by biologist, environmentalist and lawyer Rodrigo Antonio de Agostinho Mendonça, who took office saying he dreamed of “reducing deforestation by half this year”.

Cattle ranchers and local leaders call for land regularization

The “Resumed Operation” targets areas that, for the most part, have been waiting for years for the completion of land titling processes. “There are properties with more than 20 years of occupation by ranchers”, says Humaitá councilor and lawyer Valdeir Malta. “Governments have been lenient with our region. What we need is to sit down to negotiate and regularize these lands and not criminalize cattle ranchers by giving them impractical deadlines of five days to remove large herds”, added the councilor.

An estimate made by the city halls of the Amazonian municipalities of Humaitá, Apuí, Lábrea and Manicoré puts the herd in the areas that are the target of the operation at 400,000 head of cattle. The five-day period runs from the farmer’s notification.

Leaders of the municipalities involved have also mobilized to emphasize the economic importance that livestock activity has in the region. In a speech on the tribune of the City Council of Manicoré, councilor Charles Meireles highlighted that the activity “puts food on the table of the people of the region”.

Still according to the councilor of Humaitá, some of the properties were embargoed for being inside preservation areas. “A decree, at the end of the lights of the Dilma government, transformed areas of the south of the Amazon into preservation areas, generating a very great social chaos for our region”, highlighted Valdeir Malta. He was referring to decrees of May 11, 2016 that created the Acari National Park, located in the municipalities of Apuí, Borba and Novo Aripuanã and the Campos de Manicoré Environmental Protection Area.