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Updated July 14th, 2020 at 13:45 IST

Brazil: Reassigning deforestation data official raises question of political interference

Brazil's decision to restructure the space agency team responsible for monitoring deforestation has raised concerns about possible political interference.

Reported by: Kunal Gaurav
Brazil
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After a failed COVID-19 response, the Brazilian government’s decision to restructure the space agency team responsible for monitoring deforestation has raised concerns of political interference. The government has reassigned Lubia Vinhas, a key manager, as part of an “existing larger restructuring” after announcing her dismissal from her position as head of the earth observation team at INPE.

The rampant deforestation of the Amazon rainforest has been a growing concern for environmentalists and the latest INPE data showed a 25% increment in the first six months of the year when compared to the same period in 2019. The dismissal of Vinhas without any explanation by the government was questioned by the critics, prompting the space agency to release a statement on the new role of Vinhas.

INPE said that Dr Vinhas has been reassigned to the position of Head of the Strategic Project Division to deal with the implementation of the new Georeferenced Information Base at the agency. INPE said that the relocation is in accordance with the demand made by Marcos Pontes and the new assignment is the primary area of ​​training and expertise of Dr Vinhas. It added that the restructuring process began in October 2019 to modernise the institute and adapt it to better respond to the pressures. 

Read: COVID-19: US, Brazil, India And South Africa Report Highest Increase In Infections

Bolsonaro's role under scanner

In September 2019, the Human Rights Watch had accused Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro of deforestation by giving green signal to illegal loggers to destroy the Amazon. Daniel Wilkinson, managing director of HRW's Americas division had said in a statement that Bolsonaro has effectively given a “green light to criminal groups” destroying the Amazon, adding he has put defenders of the forest at serious risk.

Brazilian non-governmental organization Climate Observatory has questioned the timing of the reassignment since the deforestation data released last week showed the government in a bad light. Marcio Astrini, the executive secretary of the Climate Observatory, said in a statement the government’s desire to intervene in INPE has not been a secret since last year.

Read: Brazil Records 14th Consecutive Month Of Rise In Amazon Deforestation

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Published July 14th, 2020 at 13:45 IST

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