Pantanal: Lawyer is fined R$50 million for fire – 09/30/2024 – Environment

Lawyer Luiz Gustavo Battaglin Maciel, whose clients include drug trafficker Fernandinho Beira-Mar, received a fine of R$50 million from Ibama (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) for a record fire in the Pantanal.

The case involves a Maciel farm, in Corumbá (MS), and other owners, who together received R$100 million in fines.

THE Sheet He was unable to contact his lawyer.

Maciel owns a rural property where, according to Ibama, a large forest fire broke out in the Pantanal, which destroyed around 333 thousand hectares, which is equivalent to twice the size of the city of São Paulo.

This is the largest area devastated by fire caused by a single farm this year in the Pantanal — 135 rural properties were affected in total.

Also according to Ibama, the fire started in native vegetation typical of the Pantanal, inside the property in question, in June. Intensified by the effects of climate change, the fire took 110 days to be controlled by the task force involved in the crisis.

This year, the fire season in the biome was brought forward. In August, scenes of charred animals repeated the tragedy of 2020, when the region experienced the worst fires ever documented. So far, in 2024 more than 11 thousand fires have been recorded in the Pantanal, according to data from Inpe (National Institute for Space Research).

After more than 20 days of investigation and the discovery of environmental offenses, those responsible were identified and fined for damaging native vegetation using fire without authorization from the competent environmental agency. The entire burned area was embargoed by Ibama to allow its regeneration.

According to the institute, the fire caused severe environmental damage and directly impacted wild animals, which had an increase in mortality and a decrease in food resources.

The smoke generated, consequently, contributed to the increase in air pollution in most Brazilian cities, releasing atmospheric pollutants, including particulate matter, toxic gases and volatile organic compounds. These gases and compounds enhance the greenhouse effect, in addition to generating serious risks to human health.

Last Tuesday (24), the Ministry of Justice and Public Security of the Lula government (PT) sent a proposed bill to the Civil House increasing the prison sentence for those who set fire to forests.

The proposal foresees that the basic sentence for this crime would range from three to six years (today it is two to four), and could reach 18 years in some cases, in addition to the payment of a fine.

To combat the fires in the country, Ibama reported that it started a series of preventive notifications to rural property owners. The objective, according to the agency, is to demand the adoption of fire prevention and control measures in agropastoral areas, based on the National Integrated Fire Management Policy, established at the end of July.

The notifications guide owners on how to protect their properties against fire and warn about the sanctions applied in case of illegal use of fire. The measure aims, mainly, to dissuade new ignitions and avoid major environmental damage.