With MS well positioned, Chamber wants to waive environmental license for eucalyptus plantation

Amid the environmental catastrophe in Rio Grande do Sul (RS), the Chamber of Deputies approved by 325 votes against 128, this Tuesday (7), the urgency of a bill that excludes forestry from the list of activities considered potentially polluting and users of environmental resources, which changes the National Environmental Policy (Law 6,938/1981).

Among other definitions, forestry comprises the cultivation of forests planted for commercial purposes, such as the production of eucalyptus, pine and mahogany. The approved urgent request allows the topic to be discussed in the plenary at any time, without having to go through the House committees.

It is worth remembering that four of the five Brazilian municipalities with the largest areas of planted forests are located in Mato Grosso do Sul, according to the 2022 survey by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) on Plant Extraction and Forestry Production. Três Lagoas, Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brasilândia and Água Clara are the main producers, while Selvíria also stands out, occupying the seventh national position in planted forest area. The main cultivated species is eucalyptus, followed by pine.

The research also reveals that five municipalities in Mato Grosso do Sul are among the top 15 in the country in terms of forestry production value. Três Lagoas is the most prominent, ranking sixth in the national ranking, followed by Ribas do Rio Pardo and Brasilândia, in eighth and ninth place, respectively. Selvíria and Água Clara were also present in the top 15 in 2022, in positions 11th and 13th.

Understand – The project generates divergence between agribusiness groups and environmentalists because it makes it possible to dispense with prior environmental licensing for forestry activities. According to article 10 of Law 6,938, which established the National Environmental Policy, such licensing is required for businesses “using environmental resources, which are actually or potentially polluting”.

By excluding forestry from the list of potentially polluting activities, the PL makes it possible to waive environmental licensing for large-scale production of crops such as eucalyptus and pine, used in the manufacture of paper, cellulose and wood.

The legal consultant at the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), Mauricio Guetta, argues that forestry can have negative impacts on the environment, especially large plantations, due to the water imbalance and the loss of biodiversity they can cause.

“The proposal excludes forestry activities from environmental licensing. As a result, even large-scale projects, with even significant impacts on the environment, can remain without any control and, worse, without the adoption of preventive and mitigation measures”, he highlighted. The specialist.

The Ministry of the Environment reported that the change weakens the environmental management system and increases environmental risks. The ministry added that Ibama has already spoken out against PL 1,366.

“According to the opinion [do Ibama]the justifications of excessive bureaucracy and disincentive to activity would not be resolved with the proposal, which would only empty resources for the bodies of the National Environmental System to control and inspect activities”, states the ministry.

On the other hand, the author of the project, former senator Álvaro Dias (Podemos-PR), justified that forestry is an activity beneficial to the environment. “It would not be justified to include it in the list of potentially polluting activities, which means subjecting it to a bureaucratic and expensive environmental licensing process that harms the development of the activity”, he highlighted.

The project has the support of the Brazilian Tree Industry (IBA) which, in a statement, states that “the Brazilian cultivated tree sector is making efforts to build a country guided by the values ​​of a low-carbon and increasingly sustainable economy”.