DF cuts down pine trees because trees are not from the cerrado – 04/15/2024 – Environment

Part of the Pinheiros District Forest in Brasília was cut down in early April. This region of the Federal District is part of a sustainable use conservation unit and the trees dated back to 1980. The pines occupied around 273 hectares in Paranoá, an administrative region 20 km away from Plano Piloto.

The removal of the trees caught the attention of residents and a complaint was made to the Federal District government ombudsman’s office, reporting possible illegal action with the felling. But the action was validated by the authorities, who justify that pine trees are not part of the cerrado biome.

With forest coverage of native and exotic species, the so-called district forest has as its formal objective “the multiple use of forest resources and scientific research”, focused on methods of sustainable forest exploitation.

According to Ibram (Brasília Environmental Institute), the body responsible for managing the area, the removal of vegetation was authorized and carried out by a private company.

The place, once full of pine trees, now has a clearing, stacked wood, machinery and, around it, the rest of the trees. There are also signs indicating that it is a conservation unit. Another sign states that it is a “work licensed by Ibram”, with forest management activity and validity of 24 months.

“The Brasília Environmental Institute clarifies that, despite the pine trees being in an area currently defined as protected, the wood was planted by Proflora in the 1980s and is the property of the public company, which is being liquidated,” said the organization, in a note.

When contacted by the report, the company did not respond about new fellings, the number of pine trees removed, definition of the destination of the wood, forecast of new removals or environmental compensations or possible new planting.

Ibram stated that pine trees are exotic to the central plateau region, that is, they are not native species to the cerrado. He also said that, despite the removal, the unit will remain a District Forest and the definition of public use of the area will be decided in a management plan.

Ibram further explained that the region had its original vegetation deforested to plant pine trees in the 1980s — and the Brasília Environmental Institute was only created in May 2007.

The area was recategorized as a conservation unit in 2017. The classification aims to encourage the promotion of sustainable management of renewable material resources, protect biodiversity, recover degraded areas and promote forestry and environmental education.

The plan is to rethink the classification of the stretch, through a program to recover degraded areas and then define polygons and whether the area will be a district, ecological park or a biological reserve. Each of these concepts represents a different level of use and protection.

Therefore, “public or private activity or enterprise in the Pinheiros District Forest that compromises the natural characteristics of the area or puts the integrity of the ecosystems and local biota at risk is prohibited”, says Ibram.

The company that carried out the planting, Proflora SA – Florestamento e Reflorestamento, was created as a private company and registered in 1972 with the Commercial Board of DF. In 1976, however, Proflora became part of the indirect administration of the Federal District, as a mixed-capital company.

As a result, the Federal District government now owns at least 51% of the shares with voting rights. But, just over a decade later, the company went into liquidation.

Law No. 49, of 1989, which changed the structure of the DF’s administration, expressly provided for the extinction of Proflora. Consequently, the liquidation process was initiated, starting on March 1, 1990.