ICMBio suspends the removal of illegal cattle in a Conservation Unit

The lieutenant-colonel of the Military Police of the State of São Paulo, Marcos de Castro Simanovic, director of Creation and Management of Conservation Units (Diman) of the federal environmental autarchy ICMBio, ordered the suspension of an inspection action to remove illegal cattle from a farm in the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve, a conservation unit in Pará. The property owes more than R$59 million in environmental fines and over 2.200 hectares of embargoed areas.

According to sources heard by the environmentalist portal O Eco, the decision would have come directly from the Minister of the Environment, Ricardo Salles. The article also highlights that the suspension occurs amid the temporary transfer of Salles office to the state of Pará, under the justification of “monitoring joint operations with the National Force”.

The Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve, the target of the suspended inspection action, is located in the Pará municipality of Altamira, included in the route of the operations mentioned by the minister.