Contarato wants to stop decree authorizing irreversible impacts on caves

Senator Fabiano Contarato (PT-ES) announced, via social media, the presentation of a draft legislative decree (PDL) to suspend a rule recently edited by the Bolsonaro government by which the country’s caves can be irreversibly impacted (Decree 10,935, of 2022). The project has already been filed with the General Secretariat of the Board (SGM), but will only be numbered when the legislative works return.

Contarato classified the decree that authorizes the destruction of caves as absurd, as it promotes “serious setbacks in the protection of these special spaces, as a cultural and environmental heritage of Brazilians”. The senator says he has “no doubts about the strong economic interests behind this maneuver”. Contarato also filed a class action in the Federal Court, with the same objective of stopping the government decree.

The senator argues that the Executive exceeded its powers in issuing the decree. He says that the Constitution determines that, in the definition of territorial spaces and their components — among which the caves are found — to be protected by the government, the alteration and suppression of protective measures can only be carried out by law. The government used a decree to authorize the changes. Contarato also states that the Constitution prohibits the use of these spaces when there is a risk of compromising the integrity of the attributes that justify their protection.

In the PDL, the author points out that there are several worrying elements in the norm , “evidencing that this is a measure adopted by the government to weaken the mechanisms for protecting the environment”. In Contarato’s view, it is one more part of the “cattle” that the government, already in its last year in office, intends to continue passing on Brazilian environmental heritage. The senator also pointed out the retroactive nature of the decree, which creates even more legal uncertainty.

The decree

Signed by the President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro, last Wednesday (12), the decree allows the construction of enterprises considered of public utility in areas of caves, by removing restrictions for works in all “natural underground cavities” of maximum relevance in the country. It will be up to the licensing environmental agency to authorize construction and even the total or partial destruction of these caves with high classification for installations or undertakings considered to be of public utility. The text provides for environmental compensation and establishes that the animals that inhabit the cavity in question cannot be at risk of extinction.

By means of a joint note, the ministries of the Environment (MMA) and of Mines and Energy (MME) state that the changes maintain the need for prior licensing of all constructions. The new decree, according to the note, still makes sustainable development possible, “keeping the norm among the most protective in the world”. According to the ministries, the measure will bring legal security and generate jobs.

Among the works authorized to impact caves are power lines, railways, highways and mining.

Risks

Despite the government’s arguments, experts point out that the measure could lead to the destruction of hundreds of caves throughout the country and compromise thousands of species that live in these environments. There would be, for example, the risk of new epidemics and pandemics such as the coronavirus, with the homelessness of bat populations.

The National Association of Environmental Workers (Ascema) released a note criticizing the government’s action. According to Ascema, this is yet another setback by the Bolsonaro government aimed at dismantling the legislation and environmental management of natural heritage in Brazil. The measure may, according to the association, generate irreversible damage to the environment, compromising environmental balance and geodiversity.

Agência Senado (Reproduction authorized with a quote from Agência Senado)

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