The Brazilian Amazon has been facing a growing threat to its integrity, such as record rates of deforestation and forest fires. The recent dismantling of environmental policies and the weakening of environmental agencies may press the Amazon to a tipping point, a major risk to the global climate and biodiversity. Here, we share perspectives on the dynamics of deforestation alerts in the Brazilian Amazon and the action of public enforcement agencies, to draw attention to the urgency of supporting these entities for resuming the fight against deforestation. Our results reveal an extremely low number (1.3%) of enforcement actions in deforested areas, warning that impunity can undermine the expected dissuasive effect against environmental crime in Amazon. Combating the current sense of amnesty for offenders and assigning responsibility for illegal deforestation is crucial, given that the country already has in place the tools for monitoring and detecting qualified deforestation alerts for orienting rapid and efficient remote and on-the-ground action.
To cite this article before publication: Marcondes Geraldo Coelho-Junior et al 2022 Environ. Res. Lett. in press https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac5193.
