A new bill may dismantle Brazil’s environmental license framework, easing the way for infrastructure projects such as oil exploration on the Amazon coast and paving the BR-319 road, in one of the rainforest’s most preserved areas.
The new rules, considered unconstitutional by experts, would benefit around 80% of the ventures with a self-licensing process that exempts environmental impact studies and mitigation measures.
More than 1,800 Indigenous lands and Quilombola territories not fully demarcated would be ignored in the licensing process.
The bill is still pending approval by the Chamber of Deputies, but experts say they believe the measure will be challenged in the Brazilian Supreme Court.
The bill also exempts agriculture and cattle ranching from environmental licensing. Ranchers will still need authorization to deforest but won’t have to present studies showing how much water they will collect from the streams, where they will dispose of their waste or how much wood they will take from that area. “We have strong indications that deforestation will increase a lot,” Crisostomo said.
