Chamber may waive environmental license for eucalyptus plantations

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.

The project generates divergence between agribusiness groups and environmentalists because it makes it possible to waive 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.

In a note to Brazil Agency, 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”.

RS and environment

The measure was criticized in the plenary of the Chamber of Deputies by parliamentarians who associated the approval of the text with the environmental catastrophe in Rio Grande do Sul (RS). Deputy Bacelar (PL-BA) argued that the measure is an affront to what is happening in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

“While Rio Grande do Sul suffers because of a climate situation, we are here voting on the urgency of an environmental setback, voting on the urgency that weakens the legal framework for the environment”, highlighted the parliamentarian, who argues that eucalyptus plantations and large-scale pine trees promote “green deserts”, where “nothing grows, nothing is created”.

Ruralist deputy Evair Vieira de Mello (PP-ES), on the other hand, praised the measure, denying environmental damage. “Forestry emerges not only as an important economic activity, but also as a soil restorer. Therefore, it is an asset in environmental issues, and, naturally, it fulfills the role of occupying spaces in a territory that would otherwise be abandoned, isolated by other activities”, he maintained.

In addition to the government, the PT, PCdoB and PV blocs, the PSOL/Rede front and the PSB voted against the text. The other parties or party blocs instructed parliamentarians to vote in favor of the matter, including the opposition leaders.