São Paulo

Top donors to the Amazon Fund, Norway and Germany, met on Wednesday with Environment Minister Ricardo Salles to discuss the impasse created by the federal government's eradication of the committees responsible for fund management.

Both Salles and the ambassadors admitted that the impasse could lead to the end of the Amazon Fund.

Brazilian Environment Minister, Ricardo Salles (Foto: Bruno Santos/ Folhapress) - Folhapress

Speaking to the press after the closed-door meeting in Brasilia, participants said the talks would continue over the next two weeks, but neither side wanted to detail the negotiating points.

"It was a surprise to us that the Cofa (the Amazon Fund Steering Committee) and the technical committee were extinguished, but the minister assured us that the dialogue continues," Norwegian Ambassador Nils Gunneng said at the end of the meeting. "We have the opportunity to come to a conclusion that is good for all of us."

The new friction between donors and the Bolsonaro administration began last week when neither of the two committees linked to the Amazon Fund was among the committees re-created by presidential decree. With that, both ceased to exist.

In a joint letter sent to Salles on June 5, Norway and Germany had defended Cofa's governance model, consisting of three blocs: the federal government, state governments, and civil society, including NGOs, which have been systematically criticized by members of the Bolsonaro government.

Translated by Kiratiana Freelon

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