Federal decree forbids the destruction of illegal logging machinery

In a video published on Instagram, alongside a senator from the Amazon state of Amapá, President Bolsonaro affirmed that he was forbidding Ibama agents from destroying vehicles and equipment apprehended during raids to stop illegal logging operations. Ibama’s practise to burn cars and tractors used by illegal loggers is predicted in law as a means to avoid further forest destruction. His declaration came as a response to a request by another senator from the Amazon state of Rondonia, where a recent Ibama operation had destroyed trucks and tractors from illegal loggers. The Minister of the Environment later confirmed during an interview that a new normative would be issued to alter Ibama procedures and halt property destruction practises.