Political crisis around Amazon Fund deepens

During a hearing of a parliamentary commission created to investigate possible financial irregularities at Fundo Amazônia, prompted by accusations from the Minister of the Environment in May, the president of BNDES said  that the Fund’s Guiding Committee (COFA) was at risk of  being  eliminated, compromising the governance of the fund. The Guiding Committee is a legally binding premise for countries such as Germany and Norway continued flow of resources into Fundo Amazônia. In May, Minister Salles met with German and Norwegian ambassadors but did not reach a consensus; he decided to postpone a new decree to regulate the operations of the Fund, and thus put COFA at risk  of closure. NGOs alerted that a new decree may change the criteria on governance, making it harder to engage civil society on the projects funded by Fundo Amazonia. The German  government disapproved of Minister Salles questioning of the Fund.