Pantanal: Transport of wood in APA is criticized by NGO – 04/05/2024 – Environment

The SOS Pantanal Institute, an organization that works to conserve the biome, resigned from its position on the advisory board of the APA (Environmental Preservation Area) Piraputanga park road, in Aquidauana (141 km from Campo Grande).

The measure was taken after the government of Mato Grosso do Sul granted approval for the company Suzano to use 11 km of the MS-450, as the park road is called, to transport eucalyptus cargo destined for a new cellulose factory , 237 km, in Ribas do Rio Pardo (MS).

The state government, through a note from Agesul (State Enterprise Management Agency), said that “traffic on the MS-450 does not cause an environmental impact in the region” and that Suzano “maintains reduced operations, with controlled speed and has installed six escape areas, in compliance with Agesul’s requirements”.

Also in a note, Suzano claims to maintain “active and transparent dialogue with communities, local leaders and public bodies” before the start of operations, such as transport on the MS-450.

According to Suzano, authorization was given in mid-January. The passage of the tritens (truck with three trailers) through the MS-450, with a capacity of 74 tons each, was considered worrying by the council, which voted against, for fear of environmental damage and damage to tourism in the region.

The MS-450 is a tourist highway, which connects the districts of Camisão and Piraputanga, in Aquidauana, to Palmeiras, in Dois Irmãos do Buriti.

The park road is a sustainable use conservation unit, created by state decree in 2000, and is a protected area, due to its natural resources.

On the route, there are, for example, the walls of the Maracaju mountain range, the Paxixi hill, archaeological sites and the quilombola community Furnas dos Baianos.

“They released it the way the request came”, says the executive director of SOS Pantanal, Leonardo Gomes, who was a substitute, being 1 of the 9 civil society representatives within the advisory council. The other nine members come from government bodies, such as city halls, Military Police, universities, with Imasul (Environmental Institute), from the state government, in the presidency.

Gomes says that there was no prior discussion with the council and that Agesul failed to comply with the rules of the Imasul installation and operation license, presented in 2017, at the time the highway was paved.

The company’s intention has been known to the state government since 2023, when Suzano contacted Imasul asking for passage through the highway.

The information is contained in the minutes of one of the board meetings, with the participation of company representatives, held on January 24 of this year, after the members were informed that the approval had been granted by Agesul.

In a previous letter, dated January 11, Suzano explained to the council the reason for the request: according to the company, the use of the park road as a wood route is due to the new cellulose factory, under construction, in Ribas do Rio Brown.

According to the letter, the company signed a contract with Agropecuária CFM Ltda, located on the Lageado farm, in Dois Irmãos do Buriti, to remove eucalyptus destined for the plant in Ribas. The route is along the MS-450, passing through BR-262 to the destination, on an 11 km route along the park road.

The contract signed is for three years, with 20 daily trips, leaving with a maximum load of 74 tons. “It is worth mentioning that the company has already transported wood in places with similar characteristics to APA (…) understanding local needs and carrying out planning and adjustments to transport”, he states.

At the advisory council meeting on January 24, residents and tourism businesspeople in the region expressed concern, as the road is used by cyclists and serves as a route to inns and campsites.

Suzano representatives, who participated in the meeting, explained that meetings had been held with the community since December to talk about transport and that they would work with Agesul to minimize possible impacts.

However, in the following months, according to letters from February and March, the council maintained its position of being against tritens traffic and suggested an alternative route for eucalyptus transport, starting via MS-345, passing through MS-447, MS-352 until reaching BR-262, in Terenos.

Without dialogue or effective action on the part of the company, according to Gomes, Instituto SOS Pantanal chose to resign from its position on the board. “The aforementioned council carried out extensive consultations and clearly explained its position, but the documents presented did not induce significant changes in the process of authorizing the use of the conservation unit by Agesul, nor did it encourage a process of analysis of environmental impacts.”

The president of the APA advisory board, Marcelo Moraes de Freitas, says that the group made suggestions for improvements to the road and is still awaiting further contact from Suzano. “The forest is an encouraged activity, it has always been seen as a positive activity, it still is; what made this situation delicate is that it is in MS-450, within a sustainable conservation unit.”

Vandir Aniceto, owner of a guesthouse in Camisão and president of Aecopaxi (Association of Entrepreneurs of the Paxixi Tourist Corridor), remembers that there are other companies that use the highway to transport production, such as coal, but not to the same extent as Suzano. “It would be preferable not to have, but if there is no other alternative, there is mitigation, a program to have a minimum impact.”

Other side

In a statement, Suzano says that it has a policy of maintaining dialogue with communities, local leaders and public bodies prior to the start of operations and that this process was carried out in relation to MS-450.

Also according to the company, improvements were adopted in traffic signage, such as the creation of pockets to facilitate overtaking and active fleet management to ensure safe and efficient circulation at times informed to the community.

“Such actions are proportional to the volume of planned operations and compatible with the socio-environmental reality of the region”, he says. Transport, highlights Suzano, was restricted during school hours and there was a reduction in the fleet on weekends.

Also contacted by the report, Agesul states that traffic on the MS-450 does not cause an environmental impact in the region and that Suzano maintains reduced operations, with controlled speed and six escape areas, in compliance with requirements.