from the forest, but we are benefiting Brazil, which needs the rain that comes from the Amazon; we are benefiting humanity, which needs that stored carbon. This 1.5 million hectares, right, Minister Capobianco, that were created or are being created, they are storing the equivalent of about three to four months of Brazil's entire emissions. President, that is the scale of the Brazilian contribution to stabilize this climate process that has been attacking us. We don't need to talk about El Niño, we don't need to talk about the extreme events that have been happening, but this action taking place here today in celebration of Amazon Day goes exactly to show that Brazil is leading, that we have a commitment, and that we are exercising this commitment while thinking of humanity. And to conclude, President, ministers, friends, I wanted to say that—or rather, to leave here a thank you on behalf of the Amazon region. We spend our entire lives trying to understand the dynamics of that Now we hear from the Deputy Governor of Amazonas, Serafim Correa. I would like to start by greeting President Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, Ministers Márcio Elias Rosa, Waldez Góes, and our dear João Paulo Capobianco. It is a joy to be here to experience this moment, President. In 1 1600 and something, Pedro Teixeira, who was Portuguese, left Belém and went all the way to Quito, in Ecuador. And there he broke the Treaty of Tordesillas, because the Amazon was Spanish under the Treaty of Tordesillas . And he broke it and planted the flag of the Portuguese crown there on the borders of Brazil, where today is Tabatinga, Benjamin Constant, Atalaia. Very well. At that time, Amazonas had 100%of its forest untouched. Today, 400 years later, Amazonas has 97%of that forest intact. Deforestation happened in Pará, happened in Rondônia, happened in Acre, happened in Mato Grosso, but less so in Amazonas. In Amazonas, those people helped to preserve it, and you, sir, having already made a "Caravan of the Waters" descending from Manaus to Belém, had the opportunity to see that. So, to say that what the people of Amazonas resent the most is the absence of the Brazilian State. This is in the broadest sense. Why? Because the people preserve the forest, but they feel the absence of the State. They cannot get their basic needs met. And that is something that worries all of us who are administrators at any level, because this is not a current problem; this is a centuries-old problem. And in light of all this, when I see the BNDES arriving in the Amazon, when I see the Ministry of the Environment concerned with the Amazon, I am happy. And I want to greet Your Excellency, the Vice President, and your entire ministry for this new moment that Brazil is experiencing and that the Amazon is experiencing. Thank you very much, President. At this moment, in the presence of the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, João Paulo Capobianco, the National Secretary for Bioeconomy of the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, Karina Pimenta, the General Superintendent of the Sustainable Amazon Foundation, Virgílio Viana, and the President of the Juruá Institute, João Vitor Campos e Silva, sign a funding agreement for the activation of the socio-bioeconomy development hubs in the Amazon, with an initial investment of 2 million reais for the activation of the first six socio-bioeconomy development hubs in the Amazon. It consolidates the implementation of the National Bioeconomy Strategy. The initiative has a direct impact on 28,000 people and an indirect impact on 96,000 families in the locations of Altamira, Médio Solimões, Macapá, Portel, Rio Branco, Brasiléia, and Salgado Bragantino. Forest Concession of the Forest Management unit, the MF3, Through the contract, the government of Brazil expands the sustainable management of public forests by 162.7 thousand hectares, mobilizing 240 million in investments. The initiative provides for the legal and sustainable production of 2.54 million cubic meters of timber over 30 years, generating 339 direct jobs and 678 indirect jobs, in addition to allocating resources for socio-environmental projects aimed at surrounding communities. Now we hear from the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, João Paulo Capobianco. Good afternoon to one and all. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and on behalf of our Vice President, I would like to greet all the dear ministers present here, as well as my colleague André, who gave a beautiful speech here. Thank you very much, André. On behalf of Minister Luciana, I would like to greet all the ministers who are joining us here in this auditorium. I would like to extend a special greeting to the representatives of civil society organizations and to our Vice Governor Serafim, who honored us with his presence. Partner institutions, public servants, ladies and gentlemen. Yesterday, September 7th , we celebrated, in a beautiful parade by the way, the independence of Brazil, proclaimed by Dom Pedro I in 1822. 28 years later, on September 5, 1850, President, Dom Pedro II created the province of Amazonas. Inspired by this date, President Lula established Amazon Day in 2007. Separated by only two days on the calendar, Amazon Day and Independence Day are united by the same historical significance. Our destiny, as a sovereign nation, is linked to the conservation of the forest, the dignity of its peoples, and the prosperity of all Brazilian society. The Amazon is part of the natural infrastructure that keeps Brazil pulsing. The services provided by the forest are less visible than those of large engineering works, but they sustain our water, climate, energy, and food security. Protecting the Amazon is strategic for the present and the future of Brazil. Ladies and gentlemen, in public management, the foundation of all lasting transformation is called governance. It works when science and the public interest guide decisions. When the Union, states, and municipalities, academia, and society act in a coordinated manner, when policies integrate environmental, economic, and social solutions, and above all, when they reach the territory and improve people's lives. It is with this vision that Brazil has decided to build a solution to an old demand from the Amazonians: mobility in the territories through the controversial BR-319 highway. Since 2003, under the coordination and guidance of the President of the Republic, the federal government has been working in an integrated way to build a solution capable of enabling the paving of the highway, ensuring environmental protection and stimulating the sustainable economic development of its region of influence. This work begins before the paving and continues throughout the operation of the highway . The presence of the State needs to anticipate the pressures arising from expanded access, as announcements of opening or paving, as a rule, stimulate unchecked occupation, land grabbing, and invasion, negatively and irreversibly impacting populations and the environment. Thanks to the actions of IBAMA, Mr. President, the ICMBio, the National Security Forces, and FUNAI , in addition to the partnership with state governments, deforestation around BR-319 fell by 73.31%between 2022 and 2025, after an exponential cycle of growth, and continued to fall, and continued to fall by 43%between August 2025 and July 2026. These results show that it is possible to integrate environmental protection with economic development. The experience of BR-319 could guide other strategic projects in environmentally sensitive territories. Today, Mr. President, we will take another fundamental step in this direction with the signing of the decrees creating four sustainable development reserves in Amazonas. Tupana and Gapó 1, Tupana and Gapó 2, Canaã, and Mirarê. That will be another 600 668,000 hectares to strengthen protection in the BR-319 region, planned in partnership with the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Farming and INCRA, represented here by our dear Minister Fernanda Machiaveli, whom I thank. Jointly with these ministries is the development of a new socio-environmental management model for the Suframa Agricultural District. The partnership will seek to expand sustainable production and support businesses based on Amazonian biodiversity in an area of approximately 589,000 hectares integrated with the Manaus Free Trade Zone. Advancing the agenda of promoting sustainable development, we had two very significant acts that I would like to highlight here. The first was the signing by the Brazilian Forest Service of the concession for the national forest, represented here by our friend Batimânia and our concessionaire who have just signed this document. The second, which we signed here with the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation, with the support of the KFW Bank, was the implementation of the National Bioeconomy Strategy that we created in this government, structured in this government, and have already brought to the territory today with this partnership signed here with the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation and with the contracts also signed here by the partners. Mr. President, it is a new, unprecedented policy that is already in the field, on the ground, generating prosperity for populations in the Amazon. This partnership does not end here. So, we have an open call with BNDES via the Amazon Fund until December of this year with another 30 million Brazilian reais for the activation of nine more hubs. Therefore , six activated here today, plus nine by the end of the year. It will be an invaluable contribution. Ladies and gentlemen, today the federal government is concretely applying the first rule of land degradation neutrality: avoid loss before it occurs. In August of this year, dear president, during COP 17 of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, a convention relegated to the background, which Brazil brought to the forefront and gave importance to, seeking international negotiations so that it gains more support from countries. At this meeting in Mongolia, we presented our voluntary goal to combat desertification in national territory, which aims to avoid, reduce, and restore 367 million hectares. More than 95%of this area corresponds to preventing degradation precisely through what we are announcing here today: conservation and sustainable management. Maintaining the integrity of the Amazon will, therefore, be fundamental to meeting Brazil's goal. Here, avoiding degradation means preventing deforestation and criminal fires from advancing over still-preserved territories. And these actions are also essential to protect another biome deeply connected to the Amazon: the Cerrado. Another global biodiversity hotspot and cradle of major Brazilian river basins. Next Friday, September 11, we will celebrate Cerrado Day. A date established in 2003 , also by the President of the Republic , which honors Ari José de Oliveira, the well-known "Ari Lightning Rod," an environmentalist, actor, and great defender of the biome. Protecting the Amazon, the Cerrado, the Caatinga, the Atlantic Forest, the Pampa, and the Pantanal means protecting our biodiversity and taking care of our country's climate stability. Today, the president also signs another long-awaited decree: the expansion by 7,192 hectares of the Sete Cidades National Park in the Caatinga Biome, which includes Cerrado areas in Piauí. Mr. President, with this latest measure you are signing, since 2023, Brazil has added over 2.5 million hectares to its protected territory through the creation and expansion of 26 federal conservation units. Ladies and gentlemen, the actions announced today point to an Amazon with a nature-based economy, capable of creating jobs and income without destroying the foundations that support its growth. An economy that recognizes local strengths , turns biodiversity into value, and keeps that value with Amazonian communities. President Lula, I thank you for placing the Amazon back at the center of Brazil's development project. Your leadership secures the political conditions for this agenda to advance. I also register my recognition of Minister Marina Silva, now a federal deputy. Her leadership was decisive in building Brazil's environmental policy and continues to guide this work. I thank the governors of the Amazon states, municipal managers, civil society organizations, academia, and the parliamentarians committed to this agenda. I also thank the public banks, international organizations, partner countries, and philanthropy—here represented by Rodrigo Medeiros—which contributes to funding conservation and restoration for the economic movement in Brazil, and I offer my special recognition to the public servants who make all this happen. Ladies and gentlemen, the Amazon is an essential part of Brazil's future, and that future will be built by us all. Thank you very much. At this moment, the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, signs the decree expanding the Sete Cidades conservation unit in the localities of Brasileira and Piracuruca, in the state of Piauí. This is the expansion of the first conservation unit in Piauí. The measure will help reinforce environmental inspection actions in the area, which is now expanded by more than 7,000 hectares. Thank you. Decree creating the Tupana Igapó 1 Conservation Unit, in the locality of Borba, state of Amazonas. This is a sustainable development reserve of 114,000 hectares with settlements established over three decades ago. The conservation unit will be managed by the Chico Mendes Institute. Decree creating the Tupana Igapó Sul 2 conservation unit, in the localities of Beruri and Tapauá, state of Amazonas. With 422,000 hectares. The sustainable development reserve houses settlements of riverine, extractivist, and fishing communities, as well as agrarian reform beneficiaries. The area shows a high degree of conservation with only 0.01% of accumulated deforestation up to 2024 . Decree creating the Canaã Conservation Unit in the localities of Careiro and Autazes, state of Amazonas. Decree creating the Canaã Conservation Unit, in the localities of Careiro and Autazes, state of Amazonas. The new sustainable development reserve, covering 109,000 hectares, will help prevent disorganized territorial expansion and deforestation. 1042 settlers are in the area, noted for their family farming, artisanal fishing , and plant extraction activities. Decree creating the Mirari Conservation Unit, in the locality of Humaitá, state of Amazonas. The Mirari sustainable development reserve, with 22,000 hectares, shows a high degree of conservation and is home to families who engage in subsistence agriculture, fishing, and extraction. Ladies and gentlemen, the floor is now given to the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. I have a speech ready to read here, but I think the speech by our comrade Capobianco has already said what all of us in the government could say about what is happening here today and what has already happened. Before this act today , it wasn't us who created the Amazon; it wasn't us who created the rivers; it wasn't us who planted the forests; it wasn't us who brought the indigenous peoples to live in the Amazon. But certainly, at no other moment in the history of this country has a government been as concerned with preserving the forest and the water of the Amazon as we have been. Today, besides being Amazon Day, is the day of the possible. You know that I do not believe in the word impossible. In fact , it is a matter of not accepting the word impossible as something given as a certainty. The word impossible only prevails if we, human beings, are incapable of finding another way to do things. This BR-319 is an ordeal in this country that I never imagined, because it is not my first term, that we would have to resolve through often insane fighting, Capobianco, with arguments not always sustainable, often with passion placed above reason. On one side, people who thought it was untouchable to do anything on the route of a road that had already been built connecting two capitals. On the other side, people who thought we had to do it any way, you know, without criteria for environmental preservation, without demarcating the correct areas, because people thought that, instead of a road, it should be something to enrich a few by buying and selling land. And we insisted that it was possible to find a way to build the road to serve two important capitals that, without the road, would have the river as a means of transport, which nature does not always allow to be a road, you know, that would allow bringing benefits to both cities. And we found a way to do it, by demarcating what needs to be demarcated, demanding responsibility from the federal government, demanding responsibility from the state government, demanding the responsibility of each federated entity so that we could say to the world: "We are going to build a road." There will be a modern road that will be able to transport the production of two Brazilian states, but it will be a road that will serve as an example to the world of how it is possible for us to combine development with environmental protection. And for a very simple reason, it is because the environmental issue has become an economic issue. And for a very simple thing: although many economists did not learn bioeconomy in university, the truth is that the forest peoples, the riverside dwellers, the fishermen, they created the bioeconomy, and it is up to us, as leaders, to dedicate ourselves to this, so that it can turn into an alternative economy in the years we are living. And it is already proven that it is possible. We haven't reached where we want to be yet, because I think we will only fully preserve the Amazon the day Brazilian society discovers that tourism in a preservation area, with conditions to stay there, to rest and to know our wealth, will have enough money to justify that a standing forest is more profitable than a forest cut down or burned. We are already close to showing this. We are, we are already close to showing this. And I still dream, Capobianco, I still dream, Minister of Tourism, that there will be a day when there will be planes full of young Brazilian students from the South and Southeast going to get to know the Amazon. No disdain for knowing Disney. No disdain. But it would be so good if we learned to know something that is worth so much to human beings, that is worth so much to the planet, and that we sometimes defend so much in our homes, but we often don't make any effort to visit. And it is important for people to know, for people to know the wonder that is the vastness of our rivers, the wonder that is the quantity of our forests, the wonder that is the size of our birds, and the wonder that is, above all, the economic capacity that people manage to extract from things that until recently we did not value. So today is the day where we are . It is possible. Dear Capobianco, I want to thank the IBAMA staff, the ICMBio staff, the staff you know, from the Ministry of Environment and all the ministers who dedicated themselves to this. Do not think it is an easy conversation. When you are applauding here, there are many people hating us who are not here. There are many people hating us, thinking that we effectively do not want Brazil's development, that we want to preserve who knows what. Still that backward discourse that indigenous people have 14%of the Brazilian territory, that they can't have so much land when everyone knows they had the entirety of this territory before the Portuguese arrived here. It was us who took it. I think that we must say congratulations to all of you, employees, ministers who dedicated yourselves to this, because it was not an easy task. I went to Cabo Banco the other day to visit our famous, you know , oil platform on the Equatorial Margin . And one thing I wanted you to see, no , you saw, it is impressive. I mean, we are 575 km from the mouth of the Amazon . We are 175 km from the land of Amapá . And we traveled 175 km in the plane without any boat underneath, without any security plane behind us. If that had fallen into the water, no one would have escaped. But we went there to see. And what surprised me, folks, is that we found oil. And in finding this oil, we have to think about a sacred thing I heard from Petrobras. They showed me the machines. In Brazil's case, an oil spill like what happened in the Gulf of Mexico would never happen. Never, because we have where the source is drilling a machine that any sign of leaking stops the drilling immediately. It is an impressive thing. I told Magda : if you show this to everyone, people will gain confidence that Petrobras is not just the company with the most technology for deep-water prospecting. It is the company that has the most responsible technology to know the importance of us using this oil, not ruining our water, not ruining our forest, and making this oil money used to build the roadmap for us to end fossil fuel once and for all in the world, by creating alternatives. And it is important to remember that Brazil is the country, when it comes to alternatives, no country has any proximity to compete with Brazil in alternative fuels. We are not yet self-sufficient, but no one is even close to us. I had the audacity at the Hannover fair to hold a competition between Brazilian biofuel and European biofuel, in a European truck made by Mercedes-Benz. And what was the test result? Our biofuel is 67%less of a greenhouse gas emitter than their fuel. So I am, I am confident that we are setting the right path for this country's development. And another important thing, you have to know, I think Capobianco, it would be important to produce that material which is the result of the work of 24 ministers. The preparation to face El Niño. It is important that every leader in the National Congress receives that work. What I can tell you: never before in the history of Brazil has a government prepared as much to face El Niño as we have prepared to face this one. I don't know if we will manage, because we don't know its size, but the concrete fact is that we have never worked with such speed and precision to buy what is missing, hire what is needed, and prepare ourselves, including, to assist the area that will be hit by El Niño, so that we don't let the population suffer. I don't remember in the history of Brazil, my colleagues from Ibama and ICMBio, I don't remember in the history of Brazil, a government that, in advance, by bringing together 24 ministers, produced so many policies to face "El Niño", in a demonstration that, for us, the climate issue is not an electoral speech; it is a matter of survival for the human species on planet Earth. And if we have our contribution, we will give it. That is why today, today is a very grateful day . I would like you, who are here happy with everything that happened here today, to remember that less than 4 years ago we were crying because the speech was, you know, let's break the fence to let the cattle pass through. That was the speech 4 years ago. We cannot forget. They say we have short memories. We cannot have short memories , because to build these policies that we are announcing here, it took years, years of meetings between the Ministry of the Environment, the Chief of Staff, the Ministry of Transport, it was many fights. Now to destroy this, you don't need any meeting, just some crook who doesn't like the environmental issue to take over the government in any other country to destroy everything that is being done here. So, it is important for you to remember: the guardians of the forest are not the indigenous people, not the fishermen, not the river dwellers. It is you, the Brazilian people, who don't live there, but who have the responsibility to defend that as you would defend the most important heritage humanity has, which is our Amazon and our fresh water . Therefore, congratulations, Capobianco, congratulations to the peoples of the Amazon. A hug. This ceremony is now concluded. Everyone is kindly requested to remain in their seats until the President of the Republic has departed.