Sugarcane zoning creates differences at the Chamber of Deputies
The expansion of sugarcane production is prohibited in Amazon and Pantanal
In September 17, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sent a Bill to the Congress that regulates the National Agro-Ecological Zoning of Sugarcane (ZAE CANA). This Bill was established by decree on the same date. The expansion of sugarcane production is prohibited in Amazon and Pantanal.
Deputy Sarney Filho (PV-MA) believes that zoning is a Government’s reasonable proposal that should have already been implemented years ago and it is essential to ensure that some countries do not use the environment as an excuse to restrict the export market to Brazilian ethanol.
“Internationally, one of the things that questioned the Brazilian ethanol, occasionally without any ecological foundation, was the not enough zoning and the perception that sugarcane could somehow encourage deforestation in Amazon and Pantanal. The guarantee of this zoning is that there will not have a direct sugarcane pressure on the forest.
But Deputy Wandenkolk Gonçalves (PSDB-PA) criticized the initiative. In his opinion, the Government should be able to submit a sustainable development project for Amazon, but it fails by choosing to impose restrictions that hamper the growth of the region as well as the employment and income generation.
Wandenkolk Gonçalves argued that technical studies prove that sugarcane plantation does not damage the environment and allow the production of ethanol, clean energy derived from alcohol. The Representative said that the Government tries to impose a market reserve, making clear Brazilian subservience to international pressure.
Regarding criticisms that have been made about the zoning, the bench of Partido Verde in the Chamber of Deputies expressed its support to the Minister of the Environment, Carlos Minc, that was affronted by the governor of Mato Grosso do Sul, André Puccinelli. The governor did not agree with the prohibition of sugarcane plantation in the Bacia Hidrográfica do Alto Paraguai (Basin in the Alto Paraguai River).
Reporting – Simone Salles / The Chamber of Deputies´ Radio Station
Edition - Wilson Silveira
Translation - Grupo Solucion-SP Language/Vanessa Aylanak