Sao Paulo, May 25, 2017
To His Excellency the President of the Republic, Michel Temer,
The Brazil Climate, Forests and Agriculture Coalition – a movement composed of representatives from civil society, the business sector and academia – asks the President of the Republic to fully veto Provisional Measures (MPs) 756/2016 and 758/2016. These measures, approved by the Senate plenary on May 23, through Conversion Bills (PLVs) 4/2017 and 17/2017, reduced the size of the Jamanxim National Forest (Flona), in the municipality of Novo Progresso (PA); the Jamanxim National Park (Parna), in the municipalities of Itaituba and Trairão (PA); and the São Joaquim Parna (SC).
The approval of these MPs goes against environmental protection and the fight against increasing deforestation in Brazilian biomes and undermines the credibility of necessary economic development initiatives in the country. These measures, which cause irreparable damage to biodiversity and the climate, will result in the benefit of a few individuals to the detriment of the national interest.
The sanction of these PLVs will result in the removal of protection from 588.5 thousand hectares of forests in the Amazon and the reduction by 20% of the São Joaquim National Park, one of the main refuges for biodiversity in the Atlantic Forest, the most threatened biome in the country. It will also result in the highest authority in the Republic encouraging an increase in illegal exploitation and depredation, creating an undesirable precedent for new occupations of preserved areas in Conservation Units (UC).
The Jamanxim National Forest, created in February 2006, plays an important role in the region by joining other conservation units to form a green barrier covering more than 6.4 million hectares. This blockade has managed to contain the devastating advance of deforestation along the BR-163, the highway that connects Cuiabá (MT) to Santarém (PA), which increased by more than 6,50% between 2001 and 2004, as a result of the acceleration of real estate speculation on public lands.
Sectors that defend the approval of the reduction of these invaluable protected areas argue that the difficulties faced by the government in implementing them have prevented effective control of illegal and predatory exploitation through deforestation and mining. However, reducing them is the worst way to solve these problems, which, on the contrary, will worsen without legal protection. Proof of the extremely high risk to which these areas will be subjected with the de-allocation can be seen by analyzing the images obtained by the MapBiomas platform. These maps, which we present below, reveal that from 2004 to 2016, the Jamanxim National Forest lost more than 117 thousand hectares of forests, which generated the release of 70 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to calculations by IPAM – the Amazon Environmental Research Institute. By 2030, the de-allocation of the area could result in 280 thousand hectares of fewer forests and 140 million tons of CO2 emissions. This is a process that needs to be avoided.
It is important to highlight that ICMBio, the federal agency responsible for managing the UCs, acknowledged in its own report that the occupation of the Jamanxim Flona is recent, stating that 67.7% of those who are there entered shortly before or shortly after its creation, in 2006. This data proves that the occupations were of a speculative nature.
Other proposals currently under consideration in the legislative and executive branches threaten the Amazon Protected Areas Program (ARPA), which supports the management of protected areas in the region. The allocation of resources to ARPA, approximately US$1.4 billion from international donors, is tied to several commitments, such as ensuring that no protected areas are lost.
Thus, the projects that aim to de-allocate, recategorize and alter the boundaries of conservation units currently underway in the Government clearly fail to comply with a Brazilian commitment, and could affect the disbursement actions of one of the largest forest conservation programs in the world's history.
The measures approved by the Senate will affect legal certainty and harm investments in the country, driving investors and demanding consumers away from sustainable production systems. In a world where socio-environmental criteria are increasingly at the center of decision-making by major investors, Brazil is moving further away from the opportunity to become a competitive and respected economy.
In a scenario of increased deforestation in the Amazon over the last two years, MPs like these encourage predatory occupation and disrespect for environmental protection areas, putting at risk the gains obtained in attempts to control deforestation in the region and compromising the image of the country and agribusiness.
The government cannot authorize land regularization in areas where illegal deforestation has occurred. Otherwise, it will not be feasible to eliminate illegal deforestation, as provided for in the Brazilian Forest Code, and to comply with the international climate and biodiversity agreements entered into by the country, such as the implementation of the NDC, which are essential for building a low-carbon economy.
Brazil needs a government policy to address the challenges of illegal occupation and deforestation and to ensure sustainability in logistics projects in the Amazon, such as the Ferrogrão project. The implementation of these measures in Congress has not been successful and associates the railroad with unnecessary damage to the forest, biodiversity and climate. This drives away investors and could result in legal challenges. This debate will need to be restarted, with technical bases and broad participation from interested parties.
The first step in this direction, Mr. President, is, in our view, the full veto of Conversion Bills 04/2017 and 17/2017.
Coalition Brazil Climate, Forests and Agriculture
Source: IPAM and MapBiomas
About the Brazil Coalition
The Brazil Climate, Forests and Agriculture Coalition is a multi-sector movement that was formed with the objective of proposing actions and influencing public policies that lead to the development of a low-carbon economy, with the creation of quality jobs, the stimulation of innovation, the global competitiveness of Brazil and the generation and distribution of wealth to the entire society. More than 150 companies, business associations, research centers and civil society organizations have already joined the Brazil Coalition – coalizaobr.com.br
