Study says that Sabesp could receive R$3 billion per year to preserve native forest – 12/05/2023 – Panel

A study carried out by BMV Global, a greentech that produces assets based on nature conservation, states that Sabesp could receive R$3 billion per year for the preservation of the approximately 45 thousand hectares of native forest it owns.

BMV is a company that tries to convince states and municipalities that they can raise financial resources with preservation and conservation areas, whether with carbon credits or biodiversity credits.

The BMV survey on Sabesp states that the preservation of the native forest area would generate 25,608,965 units of sustainability credit, a measure used by the BMV which is equivalent to 13 m² of preserved native area and 27 benefits generated by keeping the forest standing, among them the preservation of fauna and flora, maintenance of hydrological flows, stored wood and carbon storage.

According to data from Sabesp itself, of the approximately 45 thousand hectares that its systems occupy, 33 thousand are Atlantic forest (or 1.4% of the remainder of this biome in the state).

Similar to what BMV itself developed in Amapá in 2018, with the Green Treasury program, the São Paulo government could sell native vegetation conservation certificates to companies that want to offset their environmental impacts, the company argues.

One of the problems, however, may be the lack of demand.

As a report from the Sheet, since the creation of the program in 2018, Amapá has raised just R$2 million, more than half of which came from a single company, the mining company that operated the largest gold mine in the state. According to Unesp’s calculation, the region had a stock of 59 million biodiversity credits, which in the local government’s accounts could generate R$2 billion to the public coffers.

In a technical note, the BMV suggested that the São Paulo administration exclude from the privatization of Sabesp the exploration of the economic activity of conserving native forests and adopt measures to take advantage of the potential of the state-owned company’s natural heritage.

PT leader in Alesp, deputy Paulo Fiorilo argues in the same direction.

“The government should include a clause in the law that guarantees these resources to the state. Unfortunately, the decision to hand Sabesp over to the private sector in a rushed manner and without in-depth studies proves to be a huge mistake”, says the PT member.

In a note, management Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicanos-SP) states that Sabesp’s activity enables the provision of various environmental services associated with basic sanitation, such as the negotiation of sustainability credits.

“In the new concession contract that is being structured and negotiated with the municipalities, rules are foreseen that encourage the exploitation of these environmental services, thus allowing the company to develop new sources of revenue and also generate a positive impact on the Environment.”

It also states that these rules will provide “mechanisms to share part of this extra resource with society through the tariff, that is, this additional revenue could contribute to maintaining the tariff at lower levels.”

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