Brazil's Amazon Fund will loan R825.7mn ($146.5mn) to environmental watchdog Ibama's illegal deforestation control project as the government continues its drive to end forest loss by 2030.
The program, dubbed FortFisc, will use the loan to buy surveillance equipment, such as drones and bulletproof helicopters, Brazil's development bank Bndes and environment ministry (MMA) said on 3 June.
Deforestation will be a key topic at the UN Cop 30 climate summit, which Brazil will host in northern Para state in November.
FortFisc will increase federal presence in the Legal Amazon, a region that covers nine northern states along the Amazon biome and basin, equivalent to 61pc of Brazil's territory, over five years.
The main project will invest R522.7mn to strengthen Ibama's air capacity against illegal mining and forestry in indigenous lands. Another R139.6mn will go towards improving environmental monitoring and building operational structures, such as storage sites and communication networks.
"We don't work for foreign goals, but for our own commitments," Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said during the loan's announcement.
Brazil has prevented over 450mn metric tonnes (t) of CO2 since 2023, which doubled resources aimed at the Amazon Fund, environment minister Marina Silva said.
Deforestation in Brazil fell by 32pc in 2024 from a year earlier, putting Brazil closer to meeting its target of eliminating deforestation by 2030. But the Amazon biome shrank by 17pc, according to the same comparison from environmental network MapBiomas.
Brazil cannot meet its emission reduction pledges with its remaining forests only. It is currently the sixth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs), according to the government, while almost half of all GHG emissions in Brazil come from land-use change and deforestation, followed by agriculture and energy.
