With 2 votes against and 22 in favor, the Legislative Assembly of Mato Grosso approved in two votes a bill that makes agricultural activities more flexible in the Pantanal region of the state. The rule now awaits the sanction of Governor Mauro Mendes (Union).
Among the main changes in PL 561/2022 are the permission for extensive livestock activity in APP (Permanent Preservation Area), the use of up to 40% of the property in a floodable area for pasture and the authorization for the use of pesticides and agrochemicals in the area. region.
The project also foresees the possibility of altering the landscapes of corixos (water courses of varying dimensions) and meanders (sharp curve) of rivers and bays.
It also allows public utility and social interest enterprises to dispense with the need for an EIA-Rima (Environmental Impact Study and Report). The text, however, does not specify the criteria for a given work to be classified in this category.
The law changed the legislation protecting the floodplain areas of the Alto Paraguai Basin in Mato Grosso, which cover approximately 600 thousand square kilometers and cover ten municipalities —Cuiabá, Várzea Grande, Jangada, Acorizal, Nossa Senhora do Livramento, Santo Antônio de Leverger, Barão de Melgaço, Poconé, Cáceres and Itiquira.
The vote took place last week and was marked by boos and applause in the galleries that were divided between ranchers from the Pantanal region and environmentalists.
The project was authored by deputy Carlos Avalone (PSDB), a member of the Assembly’s Environment Committee, and had the support of the governor’s base.
“We approved the project to promote extensive livestock farming and ecotourism in the region. What we approved has absolutely nothing to harm the Pantanal. It only aims to enable extensive livestock farming, a traditional activity in the region, in addition to favoring sustainable tourism, a great global attraction and source of income for thousands of people”, said the deputy.
In addition, Avalone said, the project authorizes the management of native vegetation, the use of fire, the introduction of exotic pastures and the construction of tourism, infrastructure and supply ventures.
Critics of the text, in turn, complain about the speed at which the law was passed and the lack of consultation with indigenous peoples.
One day after the vote, Formad (Forum Mato Grosso de Meio Ambiente e Desenvolvimento), composed of more than 30 socio-environmental organizations, issued a note of rejection against the project.
“PL 561/2022 is an affront to the Brazilian Forest Code and will harm water quality, animal and plant species, ecological balance and traditional and indigenous peoples of the largest floodplain in the world, the Pantanal, already threatened by a increasing loss of its water surface”, reads an excerpt from the note.
“Why allow the deforestation of 40% of its area, including the use of pesticides? Why was it not taken up for public debate? Why not consider technical recommendations that warn about the risks of exploratory activities in the Pantanal?”, asks the document.
