In this interview, Luciano Evaristo explains the work of IBAMA, focusing on the institute’s monitoring and inspection capabilities. The main thrust of those efforts has been on monitoring both the illegal and legal deforestation of the Amazon rain forest. Evaristo describes the technology and government coordination both in Brazil and transnationally that were required to maximize the efficiency of the monitoring system and ensure results in capturing illegal actors. He also acknowledges the challenges that arose along the way, as well as the many different creative solutions IBAMA was able to come up with each time in response. Toward the end of the interview, Evaristo takes interviewer Rachel Jackson on a step-by-step mock investigation of a deforestation violation to point out how the new monitoring technology serves to geographically locate the offense, determine its nature and magnitude, identify the person in the system, and immediately issue a fine and/or conduct an arrest on the spot.
Case Study: A Credible Commitment: Reducing Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, 2003–2012
At the time of this interview, Luciano de Meneses Evaristo was director of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA). Previously, he had been with IBAMA in the department of strategic management as well as in the area of environmental monitoring. In addition, Evaristo served as head of the department of environmental protection at various times from 2002 to 2012. He also was in the Brazilian government’s internal affairs office on combatting corruption.