( MSN )
Brazilian environmental officials made a massive seizure of logs in one of the most heavily logged regions of the Amazon rainforest as they continue their fight against deforestation.
According to Reuters, they seized the equivalent of 5,000 trucks' worth of lumber from the area, signaling the kickoff of what promises to be the most comprehensive anti-logging action in more than five years.
Operation Maravalha targets the Amazonas, Pará, and Rondônia regions. Its goal is to curb illegal logging in protected areas and Indigenous lands, which have some of the highest rates of deforestation in the country, according to Jair Schmitt, who heads IBAMA, the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, which spearheaded the raid.
As part of the raid, IBAMA closed down close to 12 sawmills and hit companies with a total of $2.7 million in fines for their illicit logging.
"The idea behind this operation is for us to contain the extraction of illegal timber in the Amazon, which is the first step to deforestation," Schmitt said.
The rainforest has been under siege from human actions. Brazil's worst drought on record has spurred massive wildfires, while human-set fires have exacerbated the situation. On top of that, our global rainforests are not in sufficient condition to ensure the survival of close to 16,000 vertebrate species. This is because of the burning of dirty fuels for energy, which is causing rising temperatures around the glove.
Fortunately, Brazil's government under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been living up to its promises to protect the Amazon, as deforestation has fallen to its lowest level in under a decade.
In the case of these raids, the next step is to audit timber projects on private lands, which are suspected of defrauding the government to hide the origin of illegally obtained timber. From there, the plan is to suspend those operations and further slow the production of illegal timber.
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