Alckmin once again defends potassium exploration in AM – 03/01/2024 – Environment

Acting president, vice-president Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) once again defended the project that intends to explore potassium in a preserved region of the Amazon and indicated support for the paving of BR-319, the highway that connects Manaus to Porto Velho.

The positions of Alckmin, who is also Minister of Development, Industry and Commerce, were expressed in Manaus, this Friday (1st), after participating in a meeting of the board of directors of Suframa (Superintendency of the Manaus Free Trade Zone).

The two projects – one private, for the exploration of potash, and the other public, for paving a highway – are sensitive to the Amazon region and have objections within the Lula (PT) government itself.

Both potassium and the highway have a strong lobby from businesspeople and politicians from Amazonas. The state governor, Wilson Lima (União Brasil), accompanied the vice president on the agenda at Suframa and defended the two projects.

“Regarding potassium, I do believe that we can make good progress,” said Alckmin. “Potassium is mine, I don’t choose it, it’s nature. It’s fundamental for food production. There is technology for this to be done sustainably. I’m confident that we will have a good solution, which will generate wealth and bring food security.”

Potassium is the basis for fertilizers used in large-scale agriculture. Potássio do Brasil, a subsidiary of the Canadian bank Forbes & Manhattan, is trying to explore mines in the region of Autazes (AM), in an area claimed by the Mura people.

Regarding BR-319, Alckmin stated that a working group was created by the Ministry of Transport, in an attempt to reconcile paving and sustainability, according to the acting president.

He made a comparison with highways in São Paulo that cut through pieces of Atlantic forest, and said that the biome is one of the most preserved in the country. The Atlantic forest is among the most deforested biomes in Brazil.

“I’m not an expert in the area, but if you take the Atlantic forest, in São Paulo, it is one of the most preserved in the country, and there is a highway connecting Taubaté to Ubatuba, São José dos Campos to the coast. There is a highway, and the preservation of the biome, of the Atlantic forest”, said Alckmin, who stated that technology exists for “environmental care”.

License documents for the paving of BR-319 at Ibama (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) show the risk of further deforestation and land grabbing with the work.

The expectation for the restoration of the middle stretch, with 405 km, is already fueling deforestation along the highway, according to experts who monitor the region, one of the most preserved in the Amazon.

An inspection carried out by Ibama found the advance of devastation, burning and occupation of public lands along BR-319, with the arc of deforestation heading towards the central and northern portions of Amazonas, two of the most preserved in the Amazon.

Deforestation is increasing even before restoration work on the highway, which connects Manaus to Porto Velho.

The inspection along the 877 km of highway was carried out between September 18 and 23, 2023. The report was completed on October 31.

The document points out the existence of 225 degraded areas on BR-319. These areas need to be urgently recovered and some of them pose risks to the highway platform itself, according to Ibama.

The historic drought in the Amazon in 2023 increased political lobbying for BR-319. It was in this context that the Lula government created a group to try to speed up the licensing process.

The vice president promised to bring forward dredging in rivers in the region, a procedure adopted during the drought in 2023 as a way to facilitate navigation.

In the case of potash exploration, a Federal Court decision forced the interruption of licensing by the environmental agency linked to the government of Amazonas. Ibama, however, has repeatedly rejected having jurisdiction for licensing. In the second instance, the court overturned the decision.

The president of Potássio do Brasil, Adriano Espeschit, promised the Mura indigenous people the purchase and delivery of 5,000 hectares of land in the event of a favorable position in an assembly for the potassium exploration venture in the region, between the Madeira and Amazon rivers.

The offer was followed by statements from Espeschit opposing the demarcation of the territory, despite the start of formal procedures for delimitation by Funai (National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples), which set up a technical group in August.

The president of Potássio do Brasil also told the Muras, in the recorded conversation, that the territory could only become indigenous land after the removal of the ore, within a period of 23 to 34 years. In a statement, the company states that the benefits to Muras are public.