The Surveillance System of the Amazon (SIVAM) is slated to start operating – at least in part – July 25, when the project’s main center in the northwestern Brazilian city of Manaos is to be inaugurated. Two other centers are to be built in Belén, on the northeast coast, and in the northwestern Porto Velho, forming a monitoring triangle that will be coordinated in Brasilia, where information will be processed from 25 radars, five aircraft and hundreds of data collection units on hydrology and weather.

The 1.4-billion-dollar project seeks to control air traffic in the region and to combat deforestation, illegal logging and other environmental crimes afflicting this South American trove of biological wealth.