On Wednesday (14th), the Committee on Agriculture, Animal Industry, Supply and Rural Development approved bills that nullify the creation of national forests of Jamanxim, in the municipality of Novo Progresso, in the state of Pará, and Bom Futuro, created in 1988, in the state of Rondônia.

The National Forest of Jamanxim has an area of roughly 1,3 thousand hectares and was created in 2006, in the BR-163 region, during the international commotion due to the death of the missionary Dorothy Stang in that vicinity. The Proposal to Legislative Decree No. 1148/08, of Deputy Zequinha Marinho (PSC-PA), nullifies the presidential decree that created this conservation unit.

The Proposal to Legislative Decree No. 1617/09, of the Deputy Ernandes Amorim (PTB-RO), stops the effects of the Decree No. 96.188/88, that created the National Forest of Bom Futuro.

Before being forwarded to The Floor, the approved proposals will be analyzed by the committees on the Environment and Sustainable Development; Constitution and Justice and Citizenship.

Jamanxim
The rapporteur of the PDC No. 1148/08, Deputy Zonta (PP-SC), defended the approval of the proposal explaining that the Ministry of The Environment, by creating the area, did not consider the problems listed in the public hearings on that matter. “The debate and the adjustment of the proposal to the suggestions provided in the public hearings must be part of the process, something did not happen in this case, and usually does not happen at the time of creating conservation units,” stated Zonta.

Bom Retiro
The Rapporteur of PDC No. 1148/08 in the committee, Deputy Moreira Mendes (PPS-RO), defended the approval of the Bill, reminding that at the time of the forest creation, the Federal Government could establish area limits for preservation without performing studies to establish the area limits for preservation or leaving and asking the local people. However, Mendes emphasized that the law has changed and more than 4,000 families, today, occupy the Floresta do Bom Futuro area.

Besides the small farmers, the Deputy has explained that there are three villages settled in that area (Marco Azul, Rio Pardo, and Linda Saracusa), with 15 churches, 14 rural schools, and more than 300 km of roads. In the reserve, the cattle herd reaches 40,000, and a dairy production of 150,000L a month.

“I believe that the provision of technical assistance and financial support for such family producers is a responsibility of the Union and the competent bodies in the State of Rondônia, aiming for the development of its agriculture activities in a sustainable and friendly way with the features and the potentials of exploration of natural resources in the Amazon Biome,” defended Moreira Mendes.

See also:

Contrasting views on conservation areas

Reporting - Rodrigo Bittar/Marcello Larcher
Edition – Rejane Xavier
Translation - Grupo Solucion-SP Language/Maria Carolina Ogata