The Steering Committee of the Amazon Fund (COFA) has approved an expansion of the resources available to the nine states of the Legal Amazon of Brazil for the purpose of combating wildfires and illegal burning. The amount to be financed for each of the states will be up to 45 million reais (approximately 9.3 million dollars), summing up the equivalent of nearly 83 million dollars in available non-reimbursable resources.

The decision occurs during one of the largest droughts recorded in the Northern region of Brazil, caused by one of the strongest El Niño phenomena in the last 25 years, and aggravated by climate change.

These resources will finance initiatives such as the development of computerized prevention and monitoring systems integrated into the National Fire Information System (Sisfogo); training state public agents in preventing and combating fires and illegal burning and in integrated fire management; the acquisition or rental of vehicles, boats, tank trailers, tank trucks and aircraft, as well as personal protective equipment (PPE), computers and furniture. The support will also be aimed at training farmers, rural producers and communities in controlled burning techniques, wildfire prevention and alternative use of fire, among other actions.