São Paulo has at least 180 thousand trees missing, which should have been planted in the last ten years, but were not. The situation has worsened in the last six months, a period in which the planting service was no longer carried out by a company whose contract ended in July 2021, according to the Secretary of Green and the Environment.
Even with the end of the contract, in the last half of 2021, 5,806 trees were planted by the boroughs, in addition to 26,274 new ones for environmental commitment and 129 for conduct adjustment, according to the city hall. In all, in 2021, the municipality planted 49,895 trees, according to the municipal administration.
With the interruption, the number of trees planted in the capital of São Paulo in 2021 was the lowest since 2016. In addition to those that were no longer planted, many trees were removed and did not receive the replacement provided for by law. The data are from the Division of Urban Afforestation (DAU), the Goal Plans of the last two administrations and the Municipal Plan for Urban Afforestation (PMAU)
Even in the period when the contract was still active, the targets defined by the PMAU for the number of trees planted annually were never fully achieved. The instrument was developed between 2019 and 2020 as part of the city’s effort to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The numbers are even further from those established in the 2021-2024 Goal Plan, prepared by the management of Ricardo Nunes (MDB), which provides for the planting of 45,000 trees per year.
The goal is to achieve 50% vegetation cover in the city. The rate currently stands at 48.2%.
In addition to the coverage itself, another problem is the uneven distribution of vegetation throughout the city. The Parelheiros sub-prefecture, for example, is the second largest in the city and more than 60% of its area is covered by Atlantic forest. This rate drops to 3.2% in neighborhoods like Brás, an area with less tree cover in the capital.
USP professor Marcos Buckeridge, a specialist in urban afforestation, explains how this inequality in the distribution of vegetation is one of the factors that make up the great social inequality in the capital.
More wooded areas have better air quality, more balanced temperatures, higher humidity and less flooding, in addition to being more visually pleasing.
“We [cientistas] we do not know if there is a cause and effect relationship or not, but there is greater afforestation where the human development index (HDI) is higher. In places with the highest HDI and greater afforestation, inhabitants live up to 20 years longer compared to those who live in regions with a low HDI and low afforestation. Although it is not a direct relationship, the tree is one of the factors that correlates with the inequalities we have in the city of São Paulo.”, explains Buckeridge.
The professor emphasizes that the theme of urban trees is on the rise in the scientific world around the world, and that challenges are faced everywhere, especially in large cities. That’s because the cost is high to take care of a huge plantation like the one in São Paulo, which has about 650 thousand trees.
Despite the costs, Buckeridge explains that this investment must be made, especially considering climate change.
Both the professor and the city government, through the Secretariat for the Green and the Environment (SVMA), state that the current management has given importance to the issue, with the creation of a committee formed by scientists to define responsible plans for afforestation for the capital.
Until last year, the company responsible for managing and planting the capital’s trees received more than R$7 million annually for this service.
SVMA states that the new contract is in the final phase of bidding, awaiting judgment of appeal for release of electronic auction. The secretariat did not provide a forecast of when services should return to normal.
