Flexibilização das normas ambientais no Brasil: focar na escala federal pode não ser suficiente para proteger a biodiversidade

Abstract

The flexibilization of Brazilian environmental policies has raised concerns among several authors. However, the role of state governments, which can either amplify or mitigate the effects, has received less attention in the scientific literature. Minas Gerais, the state with the highest deforestation rates in the Atlantic Forest – Brazil’s most threatened biome – has significantly restructured its environmental legislation over the past decade. This study evaluated the potential impacts of the new procedures on the conservation of native fauna in the biome, as well as the relationship between authorizations for native vegetation suppression and the high deforestation rates observed in Minas Gerais, and their potential impacts on native fauna. In the first paper, we aimed to understand whether strategies designed to increase efficiency in issuing authorizations for native vegetation suppression could affect fauna conservation. We found that the lack of integrated impact analysis of individual authorizations and the exemption from fauna studies for smaller suppressions or just based on the socioeconomic condition of the requester (as stipulated by current regulations) could jeopardize essential habitats and their connectivity, thereby threatening biodiversity conservation. In the second paper, we investigated whether the high deforestation rates in the Atlantic Forest of Minas Gerais are linked to the legal suppression of native vegetation, the drivers behind this suppression, the outcomes of environmental offsets, and the potential impacts of suppression and compensation dynamics on native fauna conservation. We identified agriculture, livestock, and forestry as major drivers of legal suppression in early-regeneration vegetation of Atlantic Forest, while mining primarily affected vegetation in mid and advanced stages of regeneration. We emphasize the need for careful regulation of vegetation suppression for solar energy generation to prevent it from becoming a driver of legal deforestation in the Atlantic Forest. Results also suggest that deforestation in the biome mainly occurs illegally, and that offsets provided by current legislation are insufficient to increase the native area of the Atlantic Forest in the state. Additionally, it was observed that environmental agencies’ analyses for authorization of suppressions and compensations often neglect aspects related to protected fauna species, including species threatened with extinction and/or migratory species. Based on the findings from both papers, we propose improvements to state public policies to enhance the conservation of Atlantic Forest and its native fauna. Finally, we highlight the importance of studies that critically analyze and propose improvements to current public policies for the protection and conservation of biodiversity in threatened ecosystems like the Atlantic Forest.