The Brazilian Navy created a commission to monitor the sea pollution by oil and other pollutants. The ordinance was published on 28 October because of the need for dialogue, leadership and coordination of actions to tackle future oil spill incidents, such as what happened in 2019, throughout the Northeast coast of Brazil.

The Technical-Scientific Commission for the Monitoring and Neutralization of
Impacts Resulting from Marine Pollution by Oil and other Pollutants in the Blue Amazon will act as the advisory body to the Navy Commander and, when required, other public administrative changes.

The Blue Amazon is a political-strategic concept that encompasses the ocean and riverside areas of Brazil and was adopted with the aim of making the population aware of the maritime territory importance. Brazilian jurisdictional waters reach 5.7 million square miles, which is equivalent to approximately half of the country’s continental mass.

The commission’s objective will be to gather knowledge and suggest the optimization of processes for the prevention, monitoring and control of environmental disasters at sea and on the coast, as well as on the impacts on ecosystems, on the health of the population, fishing security and socio economic aspects.

The results obtained by the commission should provide scientific inputs of global expression, in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 14 – Conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development – as proposed by the United Nations.

The commission will be composed of effective members, representatives from Brazilian Navy and external members from other public institutions and the scientific community.