The controversy swirling around SIVAM, though, has been proportional to its promise. Since the system was first planned in the 1990s, critics have called it an extravagance, a white elephant and a toy for the military. A whiff of scandal still lingers over the deal; rival bidders have accused one another of trying to bribe Brazilian officials to land the contract. Conspiratorial leftists are convinced that the system, built by the U.S. firm Raytheon, will be used by gringos to spy on Brazil. Environmentalists say it is a national-security gimmick camouflaged in green. And yet, despite the criticism, budget cuts throughout the government and even a congressional inquiry into bribery and influence peddling, SIVAM has survived.
Much of the criticism is bunk, but not all. The system will certainly help the Brazilian military monitor air traffic over the jungle and defend the country’s porous borders against guerrillas and foreign intruders. In theory, forestry officials, environmentalists and tropical ecologists will be able to log on to its powerful computers and pull down satellite pictures and real-time data on fires, logging and water pollution. But it remains to be seen whether these authorities will have the money and manpower to use that data to stop the polluters, plunderers and desperate farmers who are tearing down the rain forest. Without constant care and upkeep–and an army of experts trained in the art of culling, analyzing and quickly applying the wealth of data its machines will soon be churning out–the system will be useless. Even as officials put in place the finishing touches on the radar system, they’ve barely begun assembling the most important part of all–the human component. Without competent people to back it up, SIVAM is just a high-tech lookout post with a bird’s-eye view of destruction.
