Temer vetoes measure that could reduce Brazil's preservation areas

The draft threatened to expand deforestation in Jamanxim, in the

Published on 19/06/2017 - 19:55 By Yara Aquino reports from Agência Brasil - Brasília

Floresta Jamanxim

The park is a 1,300-hectare shrine home to a number of native species from the AmazonLeonardo Milano/ICMBio

President Michel Temer vetoed the whole of a piece of legislation known as MP 756/16—a provisional decree which redefines the boundaries of the Jamanxim National Forest, in the northern state of Pará. The document would split the area and give it Environment Protection Area status (APA in the original), with more flexible legislation, which could make deforestation easier.

Located 1,600 km from Belém, the state capital, and wedged between the municipalities of Itaituba and Trairão, the park is a 1,300-hectare shrine home to a number of native species from the Amazon. The territory was demarcated by a decree signed by then President Lula in 2006, but was threatened by unbridled exploitation as it stands near the Cuiabá-Santarém highway (BR-163).

In a message to Eunício Oliveira, head of Congress, Temer said the veto was due to “divergence from the public interest and unconstitutionality.”

In April, the Environment Ministry had opposed the approval of MP 756/16, saying it would advise Michel Temer to veto it. “The text is a setback to the Brazilian government's efforts to meet the goals set in the Paris Agreement to fight global warming by cutting emissions, with the fight against deforestation and the protection of the living forest as central actions,” the ministry said.

The main difference between a natural forest and an APA is that the former can only home traditional populations, and private territories must be expropriated. The laws governing APAs allow a greater degree of human occupation, as well as private property.

In his post on Twitter where he announced the vetoes, the president tagged NGO WWF Brasil and Brazilian top model Gisele Bündchen, who had opposed the new legislation.


Translated by Fabrício Ferreira


Fonte: Temer vetoes measure that could reduce Brazil's preservation areas

Edition: Valéria Aguiar / José Romildo

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