In February, USDA Forest Service Chief Randy Moore joined virtually with Joaquim Leite, Minister of Environment in Brazil, to sign a Declaration of Intent that paves the way for further collaboration between the Forest Service and Brazilian Ministry of the Environment. The declaration signals greater technical cooperation on wildfire prevention and suppression, and strengthens collaboration on improving the health, diversity and sustainability of forests for current and future generations.

Brazil contains about 60% of the Amazon basin. The Amazon rainforest is often described as the lungs of the world. It is home to an amazing concentration of biodiversity and contains flora and fauna found nowhere else on the planet. The trees, shrubs, ferns, vines and myriad plant life absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen that people around the world breath.

The Forest Service and Brazil have been partnering for decades. Forest Service experts have been working with their counterparts in Brazil since 1950, and technical cooperation on wildfire assistance since 1990. In those early years, the focus was on sharing science and technology. The data collected and technology developed during this time continue to benefit land management agencies in both the United States and in Brazil.

These days, technical cooperation efforts are more comprehensive. Experts from both countries are exploring the relationship between forest resources and communities, including state and private lands. They are also collaborating with the National Indigenous People’s Foundation for integrated fire management on indigenous lands.

The Declaration of Intent underscores the importance of collaborating in several key areas, like addressing uncontrolled burning in tropical environments, developing and applying information technology for tracking and managing fire, and providing training and experience to a new generation of resource managers. As wildfires are an increasingly significant threat to biodiversity and resources in the Brazilian Amazon, the Forest Service is applying its knowledge on wildfire prevention and suppression globally.

The declaration also highlights how the benefits of cooperation flow in both directions, as experts share valuable experience and expertise. Agency employees engaged in cooperative efforts in Brazil gain valuable experience that they then bring back home with them to national forests and grasslands in the United States.

To read the declaration of intent, visit here.