RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro confirmed on Saturday, November 23rd, that the government is studying the possibility of exporting timber from tree species native to the Amazon, as reported today O Estado de São Paulo.
According to the report, the measure began to be studied after a suggestion from sector entrepreneurs, but would represent an unprecedented change in environmental legislation, as fresh timber exports are now permitted only for non-native species used in paper cellulose, such as eucalyptus and pinus.
“It is better to export legally than illegally and keep having it shipped out of Brazil,” said Jair Bolsonaro to journalists, after participating in an event in the Vila Militar, in the western zone of Rio.
According to the president, the measure would have to pass through Congress. “(Environment Minister) Ricardo Salles will let me know next week,” said Bolsonaro.
When asked about the negative international repercussions on the increase in forest fires and deforestation in the country, Bolsonaro pinned it on international partners and previous governments.
“First, the Brazilian government has changed. It no longer has a president who is subservient to some European countries,” he said.
The president said he was the victim of a slander campaign.
“There is a smear campaign seeking to hurt the Brazilian government. We won’t give in. They wanted the percentage of land delimited to Indians in Brazil to increase from 14 to 20 percent. We did not accept this, so they started this campaign that failed. Everything was disproved and the president who carried out this campaign returned to his rightful place,” said Bolsonaro.
The Brazilian president was criticized by European leaders over the increase in deforestation in the country and for refusing international resources, such as those from the Amazon Fund, to help preserve the forests in Brazil. One of the targets of Bolsonaro’s criticism was French President Emmanuel Macron.
“I’m not worried about losing allies, it’s Brazil that I don’t want to lose, do you understand?
Oil spill
President Jair Bolsonaro conceded that the government has not yet learned how the spill that has been polluting beaches along Brazil’s coastline for weeks occurred, nor can it measure the amount of oil that is still in the sea.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Group (GAA) – formed by the Brazilian Navy, the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) and the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) – announced yesterday, November 23rd, that fragments of oil have reached Grussaí Beach, in São João da Barra, on the northern coast of Rio de Janeiro.
“We would very much like to identify who has committed this criminal act. We don’t know how much oil there is at sea. In the worst-case scenario, if it was an oil tanker and it has dumped all its cargo into the sea, less than ten percent has reached our coast so far. Let us prepare for the worst. We hope to God that this does not happen,” the president said.