Licenciamento ambiental e linhas de transmissão de energia elétrica: um estudo sobre a restauração florestal da Mata Atlântica

Abstract

In times of climate change, obtaining native vegetation cover for the purpose of ecological restoration of biodiversity is one of the means to minimize its long-term consequences. In Brazil, the Atlantic Forest biome is a priority for forest restoration, therefore, the intention is to restore 1Mha of degraded areas by 2020 and 15Mha by 2050. However, most of the areas available for local restoration are possible on rural properties, making it difficult to achieve the intended goals. In the same context, undertakings subject to environmental licensing, such as power transmission lines (LTs), make it difficult to comply with forest compensation, called Forest Replacement. Therefore, the objective of the study is to investigate possible opportunities for forest restoration in the Atlantic Forest, arising from the environmental licensing of LTs. The methods used were documentary bibliographic research, case study of an LT under federal environmental licensing, and analysis of the legal rules that govern the matter. It was found that a goal of restoration of 1Mha of Atlantic Forest was not achieved and seems to be far from being reached and this result, may be due to the lack of transparency and publicity of information about the restoration. Most restoration projects are carried out in areas already protected by law, whereas in private areas, they happen when there is Payment for Environmental Services (PES) to rural producers. In addition to the PES, it was observed that the incentive to adhere to projects of this nature is due to the concern with the availability of quality water resources. The path to the population's adherence to the practice of forest restoration seems to be in the combination of PES and the need for good water. In the case study, it was detected the difficulties for the fulfillment of the forest, among them the unavailability of areas for planting, a problem shared by those who intend to restore the Atlantic Forest. However, the possibility was identified of integrating the need of the entrepreneur with that of rural producers who want or need to restore. Through the Nascentes Program, created by the state of São Paulo and with the support of conservationist institutions, the entrepreneur can encourage the execution of restoration projects prepared, implemented and monitored by these institutions, while the owner/possessor meets the obligations of the Brazilian Forest Code. The Nascentes Program was considered a model that can be applied in other units of the federation; however, the implementation of the Rural Environmental Registry (RER) and the regulation of the Environmental Regularization Program (ERP) are fundamental requirements. For the PER to be implemented, it is necessary to invest from qualified technical labor to equipment capable of absorbing and analyzing the high volume of information generated from the registers. As the share of state budgets earmarked for investments in the environmental area is minimal, aid from International Organizations has proved to be a viable alternative to minimize the lack of public investments. Finally, it is concluded that a possible way out to raise awareness and mobilize society in favor of forests is to raise awareness based on the indispensability of quality water and the dissemination of information (publicity)