From the forest to the consumer - GVces - Fundação Getulio Vargas

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of the total area logged in 2008 and 2009 had not been authorized – in other
words, logging was illegal. In the previous study, for 2007 and 2008, illegal
logging was even larger (89% of the area). In recent years the rate has slowed,
but it is still high. “Since there hasn’t been an increase in authorized areas, we
could infer that there was no migration to sustainable logging, but loggers
simply left the market,” says the coordinator of Imazon’s Logging Monitoring
System (SIMEX), André Monteiro.
The images caught pasture interspersed with areas licensed for timber management.
“This suggests that the timber logs covered by those licenses was harvested
from some area where logging is not allowed,” explains Monteiro. He says
that the environmental authority has also licensed properties that had already
been harvested. Finally, the maps revealed logging beyond the limits of licensed
areas. There are also forests that remain intact one year after being licensed for
harvest – that means the management plan was submitted only to enable the sale
of timber credits to cover up illegal logging somewhere else.
Logging is carried out carelessly. The different shades of green on satellite
imagery taken of the state of Pará in 2009 indicate that most management
plans were of indifferent quality. The number of high quality management
plans diminished by one third, which demonstrates the lack of investment and
criteria to minimize environmental damage due to logging.
Satellite images highlight the municipalities with high illegal logging
rates. In the most recent study conducted by Imazon in Pará, Paragominas
showed the worst performance. The municipality was placed in the Ministry
of the Environment’s Black List, at risk of losing federal money transfers, but
made a comeback (box on page xx). “Initially the mayor argued that the town
was being looted by intruders from other regions, but we were able to prove
that the problems were happening inside private properties and not in public
areas,” says Monteiro. Today, in order to register with the Rural Environmental
Registry and obtain licenses, most farms in the region have satellite image
maps done.