Court maintains ban on deforestation of 10,516 hectares in the Pantanal – Environment

The TJMS (Court of Justice of Mato Grosso do Sul) upheld the sentence of the Corumbá Court, which had annulled environmental authorization for plant suppression and replacement of native pastures on 10,516 hectares of Fazenda São Sebastião. The process precedes the Pantanal Law, which came into force this year.

The first degree decision, published in December 2022, was questioned by the MPMS (Public Ministry of Mato Grosso do Sul), which requested an increase in the amount to be paid for environmental damage, and by Imasul (Environment Institute of Mato Grosso do Sul) South), which sought to overturn the decision and allow deforestation. Majora Participações Ltda, which is headquartered in the capital of São Paulo and owns the farm, did not file a response.

The situation was highlighted by the rapporteur of the case at the Court of Justice, Vitor Luis de Oliveira Guibo, substitute judge in the second degree. The judge used capital letters to mention that Imasul’s main function is environmental protection, despite the fact that in the action he was the only one to defend Majora’s interests.

“IMASUL, a state agency that aims not only to implement development policy, but also and MAINLY state environmental protection (…), is the only one to defend the interests of the beneficiary Majora in these files. Imasul has legitimacy to defend the administrative act, so its legitimacy allows knowledge of the appeal. But this fact deserves to be recorded”, says the magistrate.

In the appeal, the Public Ministry asked for compensation for environmental damage to increase from R$50 to R$1,000 per hectare. “It asserts that the value of repairing the environmental damage resulting from deforestation, the clear cut, arbitrated at R$ 50.00 (fifty reais) per hectare, in light of the criteria that guide it, proves to be derisory, insofar as the disproportionate action committed, its consequences and the economic benefit gained by the ‘polluter’”. The request was denied by the 2nd Civil Chamber of the Court of Justice.

Imasul appealed to annul the sentence that prohibited deforestation, with the revalidation of the environmental license. In the appeal, the institute clarified that, when dealing with environmental issues, it exercises a technical position, which is exclusive to it, due to the knowledge it has about the peculiar conditions of the different ecosystems to be preserved.

“The Judiciary is prohibited from interfering in these administrative and technical options inherent to the environmental police power, when exercised regularly, under penalty of invading the Executive Branch’s own competence.”

However, for the Court of Justice, the claim regarding the constitutional principle of separation of powers does not succeed.

“Therefore, there is no need to talk about undue interference by the Judiciary, since unlike what happens when there is an analysis of administrative merit, in the case of an administrative act that is out of step with applicable legislation, invalidation can and should be carried out by the Judiciary. . In other words, in cases where there is a violation of the law (law, rules, norms in general) the result is the extirpation of the administrative act – in the case of the questioned authorization and, consequently, of the acts resulting from it”, states the rapporteur.

The Court of Corumbá annulled Environmental Authorization 210/2019, issued on 03/13/2019, for non-compliance and violation of Federal Law 6,938/81, State Law 3,839/2009 (Economic Ecological Zoning), and Resolution 303/2002, from Conama (National Environmental Council).

The prosecution pointed out irregularities and risks to the environment: scaring away of wild animals, changes in air quality, soil contamination, fires, loss of the seed bank and formation of an erosive process.

1,826 hectares of tree vegetation would be removed and 8,690 hectares of native pastures would be replaced at Fazenda São Sebastião, with the aim of converting land use to livestock farming. The rural property occupies 22,326 hectares in the municipality of Corumbá. Therefore, more than 40% of the area would be converted into pasture.

The report was unable to contact Majora Participações Ltda. O Campo Grande News requested information from Imasul and is awaiting feedback.

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