The Brazilian government today presented a bill that proposes harsher penalties for crimes associated with environmental destruction, in response to the fires, many of them arson, that occurred in the country this year.
The proposal was sent to the legislative chambers, which have been trying unsuccessfully to reach a consensus on the issue for over six years, although the debate has taken on greater proportions this year, due to the intensity of the fires that have affected all of the country’s ecosystems, with particular severity in the Amazon region and the Pantanal.
The government’s proposal increases the prison sentence from three to six years for those who start forest or pasture fires, in addition to toughening the financial penalties applicable to these crimes.
It also considers as aggravating factors the fact that fires are started in protected areas and that, due to their size, endanger the lives and property of other people or have an impact on public health.
It also establishes harsher penalties for illegal mining, animal trafficking and other environmental crimes.
Brazil has suffered an extreme drought this year, partly attributed to climate change, but made worse by fires set by many rural landowners to prepare land for planting.
According to a study by the scientific platform Mapbiomas, published last week, between January and September this year, flames devastated around 22.3 million hectares in the Amazon, with more than half of this destruction occurring in Brazil.
The phenomenon was also recorded in the wetlands of the Pantanal and the savannas of the Cerrado, in central Brazil.
The smoke generated by these fires covered around half of the country’s territory by mid-year and even spread to some neighboring countries.
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