In AM, illegal wood seized by Ibama benefits riverside families with drinking water

Marcela Leiros – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – The Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), in Manaus, donated this Monday, 12, of 100 m³ of wood seized in illegal trade to the Amazonas Civil Defense, which will build approximately 50 drinking water supply structures in riverside communities in the State.

The structure consists of a structural base on which the water purifier is installed. The system captures water from rivers and wells and makes it fit for consumption, as explained by the lieutenant of the Directorate of Disaster Response and Support of Civil Defense, Lieutenant Aline Almeida

“These purifiers capture water from springs, from wells, and with the purifier system, they make the water drinkable, improving the quality of life of the riverside dwellers who today consume water straight from the rivers, from the springs, improving their health and avoiding various diseases that the consumption of non-potable water transmits to the riverside dwellers”, explains the lieutenant.

The lieutenant highlights that the main obstacle for the installation of the system is the lack of wood for the construction of the base, and donations like the one from Ibama make it possible for the State Civil Defense to proceed with the project.

“With this donated wood, we are going to be able to benefit [cut the wood into the necessary shape] and take kits, with all the pieces assembled. Besides the purifier, which will supply an average of 50 municipalities”, she adds.

Seizure of wood

The wood donated on Monday was stored at Ibama’s headquarters for at least six years. According to the superintendent of Ibama in the State, Joel Araújo, it was seized in an illegal deposit in one of the ports of Manaus, brought from the interior of the Amazon. The company was fined and the wood seized. The delay in the donation was due to the slow process of the seized wood.

“There are thousands of cubic meters of wood, the process is slow, there are few servers, these are processes that have the defense, there is all the argumentation, and this forfeiture [loss of property in favor of the public treasury] does not happen very quickly. We want to strengthen the seized goods management team to correctly forward these processes”, explains the superintendent.

The choice of the institution to which the wood is donated is made from Ibama’s registration database. Those interested need to present projects, such as the one carried out by the Amazonas Civil Defense. “With this, we fulfill a social role, which is to use the wood coming from seizures, from environmental crimes, for social projects, much better than letting this wood rot or get lost”, says Joel Araújo.