Amapá’s Governor will appeal over oil company’s decision in the Amazon

Adrisa De Góes – From Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS (AM) – The governor of Amapá, Clécio Luís, declared on Thursday, 18, that he will appeal the decision that prohibits oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon, on the equatorial margin. The politician published a video, which classified as “intellectual dishonesty” the decision of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), which rejected the environmental licensing.

According to Clécio, the decision of Ibama’s president, Rodrigo Agostinho, is “absurd”, because the initial request is an “exploratory phase”. In other words, a research stage on the Amapá coast. For him, the denial is “totally disrespectful to Amapá and the Amazon”. However, the technical opinion of the agency, released on Wednesday, 17, indicated that the work has no parameters of low environmental impact.

Read more: Petrobras asks to explore oil at the mouth of the Amazon and Ibama denies

“The president of Ibama knew that there is and there is a dialogue, a negotiation between the Government of Amapá, technicians, federal bench, managers and technicians from various ministries, so that we can find a way out”, began the president.

“The best possible environmental solution, so that we have the right to do research and then, if necessary, produce oil and gas off the coast of Amapá (…) is another decision taken in an office by someone who is not from the Amazon, who does not know the Amazon”, said the governor.

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Uma publicação compartilhada por Clécio Luis (@clecioluis_)

Ibama emphasizes that the Foz do Amazonas basin is a region of extreme socio-environmental sensitivity, since it is home to conservation units, indigenous lands, mangroves and great marine biodiversity.

Including endangered species, such as the gray-bottomed dolphin, red-bottomed dolphin, sperm whale, fin whale, manatee, Amazon manatee, and tracajá. However, the president of Amapá emphasized that he will seek a solution favorable to the interests of the state.

Pressure

The former president of the National Congress and president of the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) of the Federal Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (Union-AP), repudiated Ibama’s technical opinion and said that he will enable political articulation to revert the decision. For him, the exploration of the region is necessary, because 60% of Amapá’s population receives state and federal social benefits.

“We will continue acting firmly, indignant with Ibama’s decision, but resilient. We will use this mandate, of the people, for the defense of Amapá. We need to conquer this wealth, which is natural, which is a Brazilian patrimony, so that it can be transformed into economic development, job generation, income generation for Amapa families”, declared Alcolumbre.

Read more: Greenpeace celebrates decision that bans oil exploration in the Amazon Mouth

Debandada

Less than 24 hours after Ibama, subordinated to the Ministry of Environment (MMA), denied Petrobras the authorization to drill in the Amazon basin, the leader of the Lula Government in the National Congress, Randolfe Rodrigues (AP), announced his disaffiliation from the Network.

Randolfe, together with the president of the oil company, Jean Paul Prates, and the Minister of Mines and Energy (MME), Alexandre Silveira, was one of the defenders of the enterprise. The parliamentarian declared that Ibama’s decision contradicts research on the Amapá coast, besides not having dialogued with the government and no other leadership in the state.