Ten illegal mines destroyed and R$ 4.5 million in fines imposed. This is the balance of 17 days of action by the Public Environmental Security Task Force in the Urupadi National Forest, located in Maués (AM), in the southern region of Amazonas, about 267 kilometers from Manaus. Consisting of agents from the Federal Police (PF), Federal Highway Police (PRF) and the National Force, in addition to servants of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) and the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), the task force the so-called Operation Aurum on 18 May. The balance of the initiative, which ended on the 3rd, was released this Saturday (10). According to the PF, 13 hydraulic excavators, a bulldozer, six motorcycles, three quadricycles, 61 shacks, 16 power generator engines, 20 pump engines, seven dredgers, in addition to nine firearms and other equipment used in illegal mining, were seized. such as vessels and mercury. Rare species The Urupadi National Forest was created in May 2016. At the same time, the federal government created four other federal conservation units (UCs) (Campos de Manicoré Environmental Protection Area; Manicoré Biological Reserve; Acari National Park and the Aripuanã National Forest) and expanded the area of the Amana National Forest. At the time, ICMBio maintained that the creation of new conservation units between the Madeira and Tapajós river basins represented “a new frontier of socio-environmental development”, reinforcing conservationist actions in the south of Amazonas, a region that, according to the institute, is of extreme environmental importance. Also according to ICMBio, the region is home to endemic birds and primates, that is, those that are only found in that area. Among the local primates alone, there are three endemic species (Mico manicorensis, Callibella humilis, Callicebus bernhardi) and nine considered vulnerable to extinction. In addition, experts estimate that 800 species of birds live in the region, which is equivalent to almost half of the entire set of birds recorded in Brazil. Furthermore, some of the birds found in the region are still little known by scientists – who have also already pointed out the possibility that there are fish species in the region that have not yet been described by specialists. When creating and expanding the conservation units, in May 2016, the federal government assured that the measure would allow “the increase of the local economy based on sustainable forest management” and that, in part of the area, it would be possible to develop ecotourism, given the beauty native to the region. As for the Urupadi National Forest, the Chico Mendes Institute reported that the unit would provide “greater security for the Alto Maués Ecological Station (Esec), contributing to the conservation of primates that live in the area”.
Agência Brasil
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