Government studies MP against land grabbing of burned lands – 09/20/2024 – Environment

The federal government is considering issuing a provisional measure to try to prevent the use of fires for land grabbing.

The format of the provisional measure is under discussion at the Ministry of the Environment and prevents, for ten years, the regularization of occupations of areas of the Union affected by forest fires from 2024 onwards.

The department headed by Marina Silva claims that areas of federal public forests have been burned on purpose to enter the land regularization process, in order to be transferred to the ownership of individuals.

The provisional measure, in the design studied, will require declaration in the CAR (Rural Environmental Registry) of geographic data on fires recorded in remaining areas of forest or with other forms of native vegetation, within medium and large-sized properties.

It would still be necessary to indicate whether there is authorization to use fire and what fire prevention and fighting actions were implemented in the property.

All changes would affect rural properties and occupations with an area greater than four tax modules. Each module varies from 5 to 110 hectares (50 thousand square meters to 1.1 square kilometers), according to the municipality.

It is up to President Lula (PT) to sign or not the provisional measure, which would come into effect immediately. The rule would have to be approved by Congress to become a definitive law.

The ministry also wants to start directing fines from Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) and ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation), as well as parliamentary amendments, to the National Environment Fund, in addition to parliamentary amendments. The fund currently receives resources from the federal budget and donations.

According to the text of the provisional measure, the funds could be allocated directly to state and municipal funds, without requiring the signing of an agreement, for actions to prevent and respond to fires, environmental and climate disasters and biodiversity conservation.

Another suggestion from the Environment Department, however, was removed from the most recent proposal because it was considered inadequate by the legal department. The plan was that actions funded by the fund would not be affected by blocking or contingency, but the department’s consultancy said that such a change should be made by complementary law.

Brazil is experiencing the worst drought in its history, with rivers reaching unprecedented lows, while record fires are being recorded across the country.

President Lula has already signed a provisional measure releasing R$514 million to combat fires in the Amazon.

Fire is one of the tools used by land grabbing. In most cases, the process begins with deforestation in an area that does not belong to the farmer — often, it is federal land.

The area is usually set on fire as a way to clear the land. It can also be sold, in a common maneuver to profit through real estate speculation. There are cases in which the land is used for planting, raising cattle or building stables, ranches and farms, among other actions.

Therefore, those who appropriate the land can later try to regularize that territory, claiming that they use it and own the area. By imposing a ten-year ban on this type of land regularization, the Environment Agency’s intention is to curb criminal activity.

For the ministry’s technical area, the change in legislation should improve public authorities’ access to data on the management and use of fire, including prescribed and controlled fires, and prevent the improper use of fires, as they will have to be reported annually under penalty of deactivation from the registry.

The department headed by Marina Silva also warns that offenders and land grabbers in the Amazon are no longer clear-cutting the forest, which is more easily detectable, but are instead using fire. The expectation is that blocking burned forest areas on public lands for land regularization will reduce or eliminate the prospect of profit.