Brasília, March 10, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Ministry of Environment (MMA) opened public consultations on the Public Forest Managment Bill. Through March 25, criticisms and suggestions concerning the text of the bill can be made by electronic mail (pnf@mma.gov.br) or telephone ((0xx61) 317-1140). The government plans to send the project to Congress at the beginning of April. The Ministry is also sponsoring debates on the text in companies, unions, and non-governmental organizations.
The purpose of the initiative is to end illegal occupation and inappropriate use of the forests. According to the director of the Ministry's National Forest Program, Tasso Azevedo, the government wants to establish clear rules that provide security for those who wish to invest in sustainable forest production. There are 64 national forests (Flonas) in the country.
The bill will define guidelines and rules for concession contracts and the form for managing public forests for production. They can be given a social function, as is the case of forest settlements for agrarian reform, or their use can be conceded to the private sector. The criteria for these uses will be spelled out in the bill. According to Azevedo, the government will determine the areas to be set aside for protection and the areas that will be assigned a social function. The rest will be available for concessions.
Land concessions will have to obey certain rules, such as guarantees that forests will be conserved, that the wealth that is generated will be distributed democratically, and that the processes that are employed will be efficient and supervised, as well as inserting the forest into the process of regional development. Concessions will be allowed for the production of wood, non-wood products, such as fruit, oils, resins, and essences, and for service activities, such as tourism.
The project will also define the terms of official announcements inviting bids on concessions. The highest price offered for use of an area will not constitute one of the criteria for awarding the concession. According to Azevedo, what will be considered is the project that causes the least environmental impact, the one that presents a technically adequate proposal and guarantees socio-economic benefits. Besides these criteria, the announcements will be submitted for public consultation, and the area to be conceded should receive prior approval from the Ibama (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources).
One of the major problems in the Amazon region is land-holding: 24% of the land is privately owned; 29% are protected areas that encompass conservation units and Indian territories. The remaining 47% are public areas, devolved or disputed, in which deforestation, illegal occupation, and squatting are rampant. (DAS)
