Atlantic Forest MP: Senate removes sections that threatened the biome; Environmentalist Front prepares to return the text to the Chamber

The Senate approved this Tuesday (17) the provisional measure that extends the deadline for joining the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA) for producers who are in areas of the Atlantic Forest, but managed to remove parts of the text - included by federal deputies - that facilitated the deforestation of the biome. Environmentalists celebrated, but are alert: the MP will return to the Chamber of Deputies and may undergo new changes.

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Marcela Guimarães

May 17, 2023 12:24 PM

The so-called “MP1150 tortoises”, which attacked the Atlantic Forest Law, were removed from the text after pressure from the Environmental Parliamentary Front and efforts from senators sympathetic to the issue. As a result, the only law that protects the biome in Brazil continues without “loopholes” to increase the area of deforestation.

The environmentalists' concern now is with the Chamber of Deputies: as it has been changed, the text of the Provisional Measure returns to the legislative house and may, once again, undergo changes.

As the Chamber has more parliamentarians linked to companies that defend fewer environmental and ruralist barriers, the fear is that the MP will be distorted again.

“Our fight is not over, MP1150 returns to the Chamber of Deputies and could also change the Forest Code and further postpone the deadlines for the restoration of our forests”, warns the Environmentalist Parliamentary Front in a post on social media.

The Director of Public Policies SOS Mata Atlântica, Malu Ribeiro, spoke about the topic in this video, posted on the parliamentary front's Instagram ⤵️:

Articles that allowed, for example, the removal of vegetation in cases of construction of transmission lines, natural gas transport systems and public water supply systems, were removed from the text of the MP in the Senate, without the need to carry out prior environmental impact study (EIA) for issuing the license.

Read also:

What is the Atlantic Forest?

The Atlantic Forest is a biome that covers around 15% of the Brazilian territory, extending along the country's Atlantic coast. This biome is characterized by its great diversity of fauna and flora species, being considered one of the richest in biodiversity in the world. However, the Atlantic Forest is also one of the most threatened biomes on the planet, with less than 10% of its original coverage still preserved.

'Carta da Terra' talks about how the Chamber relaxed rules against deforestation in the Atlantic Forest

In the Earth Charter, published this week by Earth News, Lourival Sant'Anna talks about the amendments to a provisional measure (1.050), approved this week by the Chamber of Deputies, which remove protections from the Atlantic Forest Law of 2006. This law prohibits works, such as highways, in areas of primary vegetation, never deforested, and those of secondary vegetation, in an advanced state of regeneration, which have been recovering for several decades. The law makes an exception when there is no alternative. The amendment to the provisional measure removes the entrepreneur's obligation to prove that he has no other place to carry out the work.

Indigenous people are vital to protect the Atlantic Forest, says study

Territories in the Atlantic Forest under indigenous control suffer less deforestation when these people have property titles over the land – found a study published this week by the British scientific journal PNAS Nexus. 🌳

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This post was last modified on May 17, 2023 12:25

Marcela Guimarães