Fundo Amazônia at risk of termination

In a meeting with ambassadors from Germany and Norway, the Minister of the Environment admitted for the first time that Fundo Amazônia (Amazon Fund) may end. The announcement came after a series of problems created by the Brazilian government since May: starting two new audits looking for financial irregularities on 25% of the contracts, questioning the coordination of BNDES (National Development Bank), trying to change the criteria for grant making and, finally, in early June, dismantling two key committees for the operation of the Fund (as a consequence of a presidential decree that extinguished several social councils involving NGOs). By the end of June, a new presidential decree reinstated some of the councils but Fundo Amazônia’s committees were left out. Germany and Norway defended the re-creation of the committees, the role of BNDES and the current criteria for funding projects, and said the dialogue with the Brazilian government would continue.