We cannot make the Amazon a sanctuary, says Vale’s VP – 05/15/2023 – Market

Vale’s executive vice-president, Alexandre D’Ambrosio, said this Monday (15) that the Amazon should not be seen as a sanctuary that cannot be explored.

At an event by the Esfera Brasil group, the executive defended that the preservation of the biome is directly linked to forms of development that value the standing forest.

“[A Amazônia] You can and should [ser explorada]but in sustainable ways,” he said during a panel on sustainability.

According to the vice-president, addressing the issue of development in the region is essential for the environmental agenda and should not be seen as an “alternative to preservation”.

“It is not a choice between being a sanctuary or not being a sanctuary. In order to preserve the Amazon, we need sustainable development in the Amazon, because it is this development that preserves, as long as the development is one that values ​​the standing forest. So the way to preserve is with development.”

D’Ambrosio mentioned the mining company’s operation in the forest mosaic of Carajás (PA), which today would be one of the greatest examples of sustainable operation in the sector, with protection of 800,000 hectares of native forest.

According to him, Vale’s exploration model in the region has been in place since 1985 and does not cut down the forest. Ore is transported outside the perimeter and processing does not take place in the area. “With that, we were able to create a type of mining that today is copied even by other countries”, he said.

“We are operating a concession and, in exchange, the counterpart is the preservation of a huge area. We extract 60% of our exported ore from 2% of a preserved area of ​​almost 1 million hectares”, he said.

“The same can happen with other areas. If we manage to create development opportunities that keep people in places, and that are more profitable than illegal activity, [essa] it’s the way we’re going to fight [a devastação]”, he said.

D’Ambrosio participated in the panel alongside the governor of Pará, Helder Barbalho (MDB), who added that inspection for those who act correctly is the best asset there is. “Because you separate the wheat from the chaff,” he said.

“There needs to be clear supervision so that whoever is correct, who complies with the rules, who complies with the norms, is not caught in a blocking process or possible risk of sanctioning products from the Amazon”, he said.

Questioned about the relationship with the government of President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), D’Ambrosio said that he has not been feeling resistance due to the ideological aspect.

The difficulties, he says, are in relation to obtaining licensing, because the rules have become more restrictive and the need to look at issues such as operational safety.

“The difficulty we face is more due to the training of Ibama itself, there are few people. So, for example, in Carajás, the local Ibama that needs to do the licensing to expand our operations has two people. Two people to look at all that area,” he said.

The executive ended up causing some discomfort with the governor of Pará when he said that the Ibama office in Foz do Iguaçu has 34 people, perhaps because they have a “nicer place to live”.

Barbalho interrupted D’Ambrosio’s speech saying that he disagrees. “I prefer Serra de Carajás”, he said, adding that there is an incorrect popular perception of the place due to lack of knowledge. “If they did, they’d like it there better.”

Vale’s vice president thanked him and continued his speech. “We need more training from the licensing bodies and more personnel. This is a plea that we have been making to the federal government to speed up the licensing process so that we can continue a sustainable and increasingly sustainable exploration of the region.”