The Amazonas Environmental Protection Institute (IPAAM) has come under harsh scrutiny by authorities and Indigenous leaders for granting installation licenses to the Canadian-backed mining company Potássio do Brasil without considering the affected Indigenous communities or the environmental consequences of the project. The underground potash mine, located in the municipality of Autazes, in the Amazonas state, will produce the inputs needed to make up 20% of the fertilizers consumed by Brazil’s agribusiness. This project is attractive to the country’s powerful agribusiness lobby, which is seeking to reduce the country’s reliance on imported fertilizers. Brazil is one of the world’s largest importers of potash and is almost entirely dependent on countries like Russia, whose supplies dwindled and prices soared after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, dealing a heavy blow to Brazil’s agricultural sector. Prices have since fallen, as Russia’s share of global potash exports increased from 16% in 2022 to 20% in 2023. The installation licenses were issued in April. In May, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) requested the suspension of the licenses, claiming the project violates the rights of Indigenous communities and other populations that use or depend on the Amazon River, as stated in a press release. The federal prosecutors said the licenses granted by IPAAM authorizing the project’s implementation, as well as the construction of a road and shipping port, were issued despite irregularities in the environmental licensing process and violations committed by the company. In addition, the mine overlaps with several Indigenous lands, including those of the…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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