Minister Flávio Dino of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) determined on Monday (28) that the Union performs the expropriation of rural properties affected by criminal fires and illegal deforestation, provided that the owner’s responsibility is proven.
The decision has responded to an action in process since 2020, which requested the intervention of the Supreme Court in the growing occurrence of forest fires in the country – a problem that intensified last year, with records of burning in biomes such as the Amazon and the Pantanal.
In addition to expropriation, Minister Flávio Dino determined that the Union and the States that make up the Legal and Pantanal Amazon implement measures to prevent land regularization of areas involved in illicit environmental practices and promote compensation actions against those responsible.
“It is not reasonable that, year after year, billions of reais of public money be spent fighting intentional fires and clearly illegal deforestation. With this perpetual cycle, society is doubly punished: for environmental damage and the avoidable expenditure of public resources,” said Minister Flávio Dino in his decision.
With the measure, land affected by criminal fires or illegal devastation may be incorporated into the Union, provided that investigations are carried out and the responsibility of the owners are proven. The decision was celebrated by environmental organizations, which stressed the difficulty of collecting fines imposed by Ibama.
A survey conducted by the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (Ipam) revealed that between January and August 2024, large rural properties were responsible for totaling 2.8 million hectares – an increase of 163% compared to 2023.
