Works planned by the federal government could trigger deforestation in the coming years, if the conditions for the environmental licensing are relaxed, as proposed by PL nº 2.159/2021, which is in the Senate and may be voted on this week.
The note was made in two technical notes produced by ISA (Socioenvironmental Institute) in partnership with UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais).
Using mathematical models, they calculate an explosion of deforestation linked to projects such as Ferrogrão and BR-319, examples of works that are already planned and should be exempted from responsibility for deforestation if the project of the General Environmental Licensing Law is approved by the Senate.
The main concern pointed out in the study is the express prohibition made by the bill to conditions for issuing the license (such as prevention, mitigation and compensation measures for environmental impacts).
Article 13 of the bill, approved by the Chamber of Deputies in May, prohibits the establishment of environmental conditions on impacts caused by third parties and over which the public authorities have the power of the police.
“As combating deforestation and other illegal activities in the Amazon consists of a competence – and a constitutional duty – within the scope of the state police power, in addition to being an activity carried out by ‘third parties’, it follows that they can no longer be subject to any environmental constraints measures to contain deforestation resulting from the installation of impact projects, such as roads, railways, hydroelectric plants and others”, states the technical note.
The Ferrogrão project, a railroad that should link soy-producing municipalities from Sinop (MT) to the port region of Mirituba (PA), could generate “deforestation of 53,113.5 km² of native forest in the interior of the basin, its logistics between years from 2019 to 2030”, calculates the study.
The engine for deforestation would be the conversion of forest and savannah areas for agricultural use, since 57% of the native vegetation found in the logistic basin of the railway project is in areas with high aptitude for the cultivation of soy.
Another work analyzed by the study is the paving of the BR-319, which links Manaus (AM) to Porto Velho (RO) and could raise annual deforestation in the state of Amazonas to a level of 9,400 km² in 2050. Between 2015 and 2020 , the average annual deforestation in the state was 1,150 km².
In the case of BR-319, the highway itself would give way to deforestation, facilitating access to preserved areas. About 95% of deforestation and 85% of burning in the Amazon are concentrated in a distance of up to 5 km from roads, says the note, based on data published in 2014 in the scientific publications Biological Conservation and International Journal of Wildland Fire.
“With paving and without measures to control deforestation, accumulated carbon emissions would also more than quadruple compared to the scenario without paving, reaching 8 billion tons – equivalent to the emission of 22 years of deforestation in the Legal Amazon based on the rate 2019”, says the note.
“By making environmental licensing an exception and making the adoption of environmental conditions unfeasible to prevent the illegal removal of vegetation, the bill will result in an increase in deforestation in the Legal Amazon at levels that will prevent Brazil from meeting its goals assumed in the Paris Agreement” , concludes.
The bill that is being processed in the Senate provides for thirteen license waivers, in addition to the creation of an automatic license, without prior assessment by the environmental agency, for most activities impacting the environment, classified as having “significant environmental impact”.
Only a minority of projects, classified as having “significant potential degrading”, would undergo licensing with prior assessment by an environmental agency.
According to this criterion, 85.6% of mining activity projects and their dams in Minas Gerais would obtain an automatic license, calculates the second technical note issued by ISA and UFMG.
“[O projeto de lei] will greatly increase the risk of proliferation of new socio-environmental disasters, such as the tragedies that occurred in Mariana (MG) and Brumadinho (MG)”, the study concludes.
Rapporteur for the project, senator Kátia Abreu (PP-TO) confirmed that the matter may go to a vote in the Senate plenary this week, but said that she will still try to finalize the text.
