Rosa Weber suspends Conama’s decision to revoke protection of mangroves and sandy areas | Politics

The suspension is valid until the STF analyzes the actions related to the matter submitted to the Court. In practice, with the determination of the minister, the rules that ensured the preservation of these areas are back in force.

Chaired by Environment Minister Ricardo Salles, Conama revoked the protection regulations in September. At that time, the measure provoked various criticisms among environmentalists and generated a series of lawsuits in court, against and in favor of the decision. Rosa Weber is the rapporteur of the case at the STF.

In the Federal Court of Rio de Janeiro, Conama’s decision was even suspended. However, the Regional Court of the 2nd Region (TRF-2), based in Rio, revoked the precautionary measure and therefore released the council’s decision.

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When analyzing the issue, Minister Rosa Weber understood that Conama’s decision “suggests worsening the default situation in Brazil with respect to its constitutional and conventional obligations to protect the environment.”

“The suppression of environmental regulatory frameworks, a procedure that should not be confused with their updating, constitutes a regulatory framework for an apparent setback in the field of protection and defense of the right to an ecologically balanced environment,” added the rapporteur.

Rosa Weber also stated that Conama’s decision:

• “violates the basic principles of the Constitution”;
• “denies adequate and sufficient protection of the fundamental right to a balanced environment guaranteed therein”;
• “It promotes disorder in relation to international commitments of a supralegal nature assumed by Brazil and that configure the content of these rights.

Conama’s decisions challenged in court are:

• revocation of a resolution that required irrigation projects to have an environmental license;
• Revocation of two resolutions that restricted deforestation in permanent preservation areas with native vegetation, such as subtractions, mangroves and urban springs.

The city council also approved a new resolution authorizing the burning of toxic waste in kilns for the production of cement, which according to experts, poses risks of contamination from local populations.

Environment Council

The National Council for the Environment is responsible for establishing guidelines for environmental licenses and standards to maintain the quality of the environment. These rules have the force of law.

Conama brings together representatives from the government and also from civil society. But a decree by President Jair Bolsonaro reduced the participation of civil society: from 22 votes to four.

Since 2019, Conama has been reduced from 96 to 23 directors. The rest of the vacancies are filled by business entities and government representatives. The federal government and state governments hold more than two-thirds of the seats.

The reduction in the size of Conama and its composition has also been questioned by the Federal Supreme Court since last year.

“The Conama Resolutions characterize the minimum level of protection that must be observed throughout the country, so the revocations promoted in a timely manner by the Ministry of the Environment have very high potential harmful,” said Felipe Santos Correa, lawyer working on the case. representing the PSB, one of the authors of the action.