MG deputies try again to change environmental reserve – 10/12/2023 – Environment

Deputies of the Minas Gerais Assembly are trying for the third time to change the limits of the Serra da Moeda State Natural Monument, an environmental protection area located in the municipalities of Moeda and Itabirito, in Greater Belo Horizonte.

Three bills to this effect were presented by three parliamentarians in 2020, 2021 and, the most recent, in August 2023. The monument was created in 2010.

The first two texts, by deputies Antonio Carlos Arantes (PSDB) and Thiago Cota (PDT), respectively, failed in purpose and were removed from the agenda after pressure from environmentalists.

The 2023, by deputy Noraldino Júnior (PSB), is at the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission) awaiting the issuance of an opinion.

Parliamentarians opposed to the change and environmentalists say that the change aims to remove the area that is rich in iron ore from the monument and allow its exploration.

The company interested in the change, they say, would be Gerdau, which explored an ore mine next to the protection area and was planning a new venture in the region.

For this, according to environmentalists and deputies opposed to the project, the mining company would have the support of Fiemg (Federation of Industries of the State of Minas Gerais).

Gerdau, in turn, claims that the previous bills were related to “opportunities for the company’s development”. The one presented by deputy Noraldino, according to the company, is not.

Gerdau also says it is unaware of “any bill currently being processed in the Assembly that removes part of the protected area of ​​the Serra da Moeda Natural Monument.”

The president of Fiemg, Flávio Roscoe, says that the entity endorses all investment in Minas Gerais that complies with legislation and that represents a benefit to the population, as is, according to the director, the case in this case, due to the size of the area and the fact that there are counterparts for the population.

For Roscoe, mineral exploration in the monument area would have little environmental impact as there is already a mining structure nearby. “Furthermore, it is very relevant for the city of Moeda, as there are counterpart works”, he states.

“Environmentalists should actually defend this project,” says Roscoe, citing the proposed environmental compensation of seven to eight times the size of the disused area to be explored.

The area of ​​interest for mining, according to environmentalists, is 128 thousand m^twothe equivalent of around 13 football fields, and is strategic because it concentrates springs.

“It is an area with important springs in the Paraopeba river basin, already impacted by Vale in Brumadinho”, says environmentalist Marcus Vinícius Polignano, coordinator of the Manuelzão project.

“If we go to the conservation units, there will be nothing left”, adds the environmentalist.

According to federal deputy Beatriz Cerqueira (PT), contrary to the changes to the monument, the projects on Serra da Moeda presented to the Assembly have the strategy of adding an area to the monument and removing another of economic interest.

“The scheme is to expand the protection area and, at the same time, remove the area you want to mine from protection,” he says.

The member of the NGO Embrace a Serra da Moeda, Cleverson Ulisses Vidigal, reiterates the importance of the region for recharging the Paraopeba basin and that the area at stake is the “fillet” of what matters for mining.

“In return, they will add an area that does not have the same environmental richness”, he states. “Our proposal is for the deputy to withdraw the project and for the governor of Minas to issue a decree incorporating these areas that they are offering. If there is good intention in this, then do it this way.”

Deputy Noraldino says that the objective of presenting the project is to provide a discussion in society, with the participation of Fiemg, environmentalists and the population. He also states that the text only talks about areas to be annexed. “The text fulfills the role of blocking a discussion that is not carried out in the open”, he assesses.

The Serra da Moeda State Natural Monument is under the responsibility of the state, currently governed by Romeu Zema (Novo). Palácio Tiradentes states that it does not comment on the processing of bills and that it respects the autonomy of the Legislative Branch to discuss topics of public interest.

Serra da Moeda has Atlantic forest and cerrado formations. There are trees threatened with extinction and protected by law such as the pequizeiro, the Bahia rosewood and the braúna, as well as species of medicinal importance such as arnica. Among the animals found in the region are the lesser anteater, maned wolf and puma.