Organisations publish letter of repudiation on environmental licensing vote
Bill to ease the process of environmental licensing for agribusiness activities and infrastructure building projects could be voted on as a matter of urgency
Rogelio Alves/TV Seadog
The bursting of the tailings dam of the mining company Samarco, the owners of which are Vale and the Anglo-Australian company, BHP, caused a surge of mud that flooded a number of homes in the Bento Rodrigues district of Mariana in the central region of Minas Gerais. Initially, the mining company said that two dams had burst, the Fundão and Santarem. On 16 November, Samarco confirmed that only the Fundão dam had burst. Location: Bento Rodrigues District, Municipality of Mariana, Minas Gerais. Photo: Rogelio Alves/TV Seadog
On Tuesday 7 May, more than 90 institutions involved in areas related to the environment and human rights, published a letter of repudiation regarding bill number 3.729/2004.
This bill, also known as the “The General Law on Licensing”, could be put to the vote as a matter of urgency at the plenary session of the Chamber, a decision taken by Rodrigo Maia, the current president of the House. This would mean it would go straight to the plenary session of the Chamber, bypassing discussions by two commissions, and therefore excluding the participation of civil society from the debate on this new ruling.
The main criticism raised in the document is related to precisely this exclusion. The organisations argue that in the face of recent serious disasters, like the bursting of the Mariana and Brumadinho dams, it is fundamental to establish a wide and qualified discussion on improvements to environmental licensing, one of the principal instruments of the National Policy on the Environment.
The text envisages dispensation of licensing for the majority of farming activities and infrastructure ventures. If approved, rural producers in the areas of crop growing or cattle rearing and activities like forestry, Eucalyptus plantations for example, would not require authorisation.
In the area of infrastructure, procedures such as dredging, the removal of sediment in ports and activities to repair structures, such as maintenance of highways and railways, would not only be exempt from licensing but also from the need for authorisation for the deforestation of native vegetation.
In addition, organisations also warn that other serious threats could be approved that would directly impact on people who are known to be vulnerable, such as indigenous people and quilombolas. The exclusion from the right to information is one of the chief concerns.
