Civil society calls for more transparency in environmental issues in Brazil
Dados divulgados nesta terça-feira (17) pelo Ministério do Meio Ambiente (MMA), apontam que o desmatamento na Floresta Amazônica (foto) apresentou uma estimativa de queda de 16% entre agosto de 2016 e julho deste ano.
FOTO: SIDNEY OLIVEIRA /AG. PARÁ
DATA: 18.10.2017
The execution of public policies for the environment should be a joint effort between government and civil society. As such, transparency is fundamental. This is the conclusion drawn by civil society organizations after holding meetings and public consultations, and they recommend the opening of dialogue channels between organizations and government to discuss the environment with a focus on forestry issues.
The organizations believe that the disclosure of information needs to be accompanied by actions to promote legislation and the concepts and instruments of transparency. They also defend the recognition of information and data systems established by non-state actors and the creation of an accountability mechanism for implementing environmental public policies.
The civil society groups that signed the joint letter maintain that the adoption of such measures will permit headway in the promotion of transparency and in access to information and, subsequently, “in the establishment of the necessary conditions for us to make progress in the pursuit of solutions for the complex environmental challenges of our country”.
The demands were compiled into a letter, signed by Conectas and another 48 organizations, which was submitted to federal environmental agencies, namely the Ministry of the Environment, the environmental watchdog IBAMA, the Brazilian Forest Service and the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio).
