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technology, innovation and inclusion in forests - TiiFlor
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Everything that I am going to mention
about the timberman,and I want to make it clear, is not favorable to that timberman,
that villain that has been spoken of all around. You see, there are legal and illegal timbermen.
However, the timberman is placed in a regular ditch and used as synonym of bandit.
This is something I have lived with almost all my life to this day, the timberman.
is still considered as a bandit. It is tough to talk about the timbermen
because they are generally thought of the one who devastates the forest,
This is completely mistaken. The timberman harvests the forest and cuts down the trees
trees that are ripe - whether legal or illegal. This is what they do.
Now, cut down, low cut, this is not the timberman's role. The adjective of bandit
is given because of the illegality. There are timbermen who are frauds.
And I am against them. This one is my financial enemy because
he is the one who assaults my pocket.This is why everything I have to say about the timberman
is for the ones who want to work legally.
So, this is my point. This is what I have been meaning to say for a long time.
I have been embarrassed as a timberman due to all kinds of control.
I've had three, four, five policemen at a time from the Federal, Civil, Environmental
and even Border Police, if I am not mistaken.
Therefore, it is very humiliating to have all of these armed people on top
of us when we have nothing to offer in terms of resistance to these people.
My children would come home during lunch time: "Dad, are you a timberman?
Do you cut down trees? Do you chop down the forest?"
My children were bullied at school and that hurt me.
Who doesn't want to see their children fine? Who wants to see the children suffering
because of your profession? You see everyone, this is very, very sick.
It hurts but I am persistent and I want to - one day - be recognized as an honest timberman.
A timberman who preserves the forest because this is what Brazil needs.
These National Forests are being destroyed as the years go by. For example,
today the Bom Futuro National Forest shelters 20 thousand oxen. And for those
who do not know it, this is real. You can go there and see it for yourself. Now I ask you:
If a forest concession had been made there 20 years ago,
would there be any ox there today? No.there wouldn't be.
Therefore, this is where we must start off from. Now, the government is acting
in the most intelligent way I have seen so far. They used to spend money to take care of of the National Forest.
But they couldn't because - unfortunately - when is a "product" of the government
a National Forest that is the government, people think of them are also
And this is what complicates matters. Therefore, it's difficult for the government to maintain
the National Forest because of that. Now, when it falls in the hands of a private owner
nobody gets involved because they know the owner is right there day and night.
If anyone dares to meddle with their property the owner knows very quickly.
The government does not have this kind of facility. This is why it takes time
for the government to take action. Whenever they start acting, the forest will have fallen already.
It will have been looted. It will have been gone. It will have been shipped.
Now, everyone, I believe the government is doing the right thing.
The government is bidding out the National Forest;
it is generating jobs, revenue, collecting tax.
This is the righteous way I have seen so far. Now if we do want the forest standing,
then the government is doing the right thing. It is with forest management,
which many people don't know yet. As matter of fact, today a lecturer asked me:
"Tell me one thing. Do you get 25 meters cubic per hectare a month?" You see?
A lecturer has a lot more information than a layman who is a mere listener
and don't have this kind of knowledge. Most people ask if we are supposed to replant when doing forest management.
Well, that is not at all true because everything that is renewable, grows back again.
Let us talk about the cycle in a 30 year management for instance, shall we?
It could be 25 or 35 years.
I will make a quick comparison so you can understand.
Now if you are a layman you will understand. If you are a scholar,
you will find my comparison kind of funny. But this is the way the cookie crumbles!
Let's say you are going to have your hair cut. Every 30 days you need
to have it cut again, right?
The same holds true with the forest. Only that it takes 30 years.
So 30 years later you go back and the forest may be better than it was 30 years ago
because you cut only the ripe tree. The little trees that were growing
when you chopped down the tall ones will have grown very fastly because
the tall trees were blocking the light. This is how the forest grows much faster than you think.
And the forest is there. Intact. It may be asleep, just like João was talking sooner
about the flying rivers. I am sure that managed forest grows much faster
because it is a living forest, a forest that is working. And this forest, I am sure,
supplies the flying river with a lot more water than the sleeping forest.
The still forest. The intact one.
So, this is a study to be improved. I am sure this is the right thing.
This concept of flying river is right. We will see that this managed forest
is capable of springing forth a lot more water than the sleeping forest that just stands there.
So, it is a common misconception to think that the timberman destroys the forest.
But, in fact, this is not true at all.
For example, if you are a cattle rancher you'll want
to kill the cows but not the calves. Only the adult ones because the little ones are still growing.
The timberman is not different. It is just the same thing.
The timberman does not want to destroy the forest. On the contrary, he's part of it all.
This is why we must be able to analyze and be aware.
We need to see what is going on.
Now I would like to be able to go to the first concessions, the first public hearings.
I have had many colleagues who did not participate in the auction
because they were afraid of the Forest Service, IBAMA, Chico Mendes.
That theynever got to an agreement because they did not speak the same language.
Many people would say: "But you're gonna get into this? This is trouble. For heaven's sake.
I don't have the guts for that. You're gonna be in hot water and you know it!
They will delay your harvesting period and the loss will be yours.
I don't have the guts to get into this." who bet on this were wrong.
The Forest Service, IBAMA, Chico Mendes are well tuned, ok everyone?
are speaking the same language more and more. I tell you this because I believe
they'll get more and more right because they are speaking the same language
and even have the same accent.Thank goodness!
So I am finding the path. The end of the tunnel is drawing near.
But I have found the path to righteousness through forest concessions.
Everything I do there is broadcast live. Anyone can see on the website of the Forest Service.
They know what we are doing. So this is very nice. This is how I satisfy myself.
This is how I am happy. Because I have always wanted to prove to myself
that I am not a destroying timberman. Now I am really motivated with the concessions.
I want new concessions. I am participating in new ones. I want to win because
this is not about money. I do not want to fill my pockets with money. Much to the contrary.
Money is earned and spent all the time. What I want is to do the right thing.
I want to feel proud when hear someone saying: "This guy is doing the right thing."
This is what satisfies me. My ego goes really high when I hear someone say:
"This man is sharing with the forest." This is what makes me feel good.
And this is why I am engaged: This guy at this age wants to get on a 40 year concession?
What is he going to do within 40 years? But that's not it. I will invest in new partners. The new ones.
The engineers. I am sure that when I am gone, they'll follow on my footsteps
and things will only get better. This is my goal. This is the legacy I want to leave here on earth.
Be a timberman who will keep the forest standing. The way everyone dreams of.
I don't want to be the timberman who chops down the trees. The one who destroys the forests.
I want the whole world to understand that this is where I want to get to. And I hope as time goes by
they always remember what I said is true. This is real.. This is the rightful thing to do.
This is what I am talking about. Now I want to talk a little about forest management.
I started to talk about this and then dodged from the subject. Some people say:
"When you do forest management and build a road, the animals will be stressed
and will not do this or that." I will say something that I am not sure you have heard anywhere else
but this is something we see all the time. I have seen roads that we have built,
for example, roads that we build today and then what happens the day after?
On this road we see animal tracks. These are not tracks of these poor animals
that have just crossed the road in fear. The animals wander on the road.
The road does not bother them. On the contrary, they wander by the side of the road
and the road does not bother them.road is not an obstacle for the animals because
because it has become something almost natural. Animals are curious.
They see something and they want to check and see what it is or what it is not.
So the road does not scare the animals off. We work in a forest we ourselves do not know.
Everything we do is to preserve. Even the employees who used to come here in the past
they used to have their small sound system. Nowadays, they don't even
honk their horns anymore and their cars' stereo systems are always off.
Our employees have been taught about this being a place of silence
and they must not damage their workplace. You must see a managed forest
In order to get to a conclusion. This is why I am a man who argues. I am stubborn.
I go till the end because when I think I am right I need to proof that. If I cannot prove, I feel bad.
This is where I stand. Nobody can take that away from me for this is how I am.
But the government is right. This is the direction to go.
If we don't go this way things will get much worse because today we think we have
little forest but they'll only get smaller within 15 or 20 years if the National Forests are not bid.
They have to be bid. On the other hand, the government must support
the timbermen who are engaging now, the new concessionaires.
The government must create a credit line becausethis is a long term investment.
It's 40 years. The investment is very high. You will make an investment that
will only give you any return five years thereafter. Four or five years is a long time and
there aren't many people today...today people are very immediatist, especially the timbermen.
If there isn't a credit line especially designed for this segment, I believe that the Forest Service
will have difficulty for the next concessions.Up to now, we realize things are moving slowly.
Of course, things will get better. Things will start to get better when the government wakes up
and wants to buy the product themselves, because the product is theirs.
The product is legal. This is when it becomes attractive. When the government
starts buying their own product and promotes the credit line. I will use a very bold language:
it'll be a real fever! This is what we need, the Forest Service needs and the environment needs.
If it doesn't happen sooner than later the forest will vanish into thin air. This is it everyone.
This is the message that I have for you. I beg that you understand that this is my way of speaking
but one day I will improve. I am stubborn as I've just said.
Thank you very much and have a wonderful afternoon.