Petrobras Corruption Fines Will Boost Brazilian States' Deforestation Fights, But Only Temporarily
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Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known, was the center of Brazil's largest-ever corruption scandal - the Car Wash probe - that involved bribes being paid to hundreds of politicians and business leaders to fix public construction contracts. The oil company admitted wrongdoing related to record keeping and internal controls, ultimately agreeing to pay a $853 million fine to settle charges that it violated U.S. anti-corruption laws. U.S. authorities agreed to return most of the proceeds to the Brazilian government.
After fires surged in the Amazon rainforest last year and provoked international outcry, Brazil's Supreme Court decided to direct a chunk of the funds to environmental protection at the state level. For normally cash-strapped states, the money has radically expanded budgets. The environment agency in Pará, the Brazilian state with the highest level of deforestation last year, received 49 million reais, double their annual budget of 24 million reais. It will be spent over two years.
Pará is hiring an additional 100 environmental field agents to patrol for deforestation and other crimes, 10 times the number of agents they had before. They will conduct their first raids in June, Pará environmental chief Mauro O'de Almeida said. Several of the states have lengthy written plans for how the money will be used. Amapa's plan, for example, ranges from buying deforestation monitoring equipment to reassessing its protected reserve areas, Nobre said.
Roraima, which borders Venezuela, has a 35-page document that pledges to promote sustainable agriculture and educate locals on fire prevention. State environmental agency chief Ionilson Souza said some of the funds will be used to hire firefighters in October when forest fires usually peak. Not all states will spend the money on the environment. The Supreme Court decided in May that four states would be allowed to redirect the funds, partially or in full, to fighting the coronavirus.
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https://news.trust.org/item/20200603091702-oky9j
