Tropentag, September 18 - 20, 2019 in Kassel "Filling gaps and removing traps for sustainable resources development"

Analisis of Agreements Made by Public Prosecutor's Office of Goias in Meia Ponte River: Ecological Restoration of Legal Reserve Areas and Permanent Preservation Areas in Cerrado

¹State University of Goias, Law College, Brazil
²Federal University of Goias, Rural Development Department, Brazil

Abstract

Brazil is a country proud by its agriculture. Yet, it has major problems balancing agribusiness and attention to environmental law. Due to pressures made by farmers, the new president, Bolsonaro, elected in 2018, promised to reduce legal demands in order to avoid punishment for those who deforest areas protected by Brazilian Forest Code. Law has not changed yet, but many farmers fail to comply with regulations in the hope this will change soon.
public prosecutors work to make it possible for farmers to adjust their activities so that protected areas may remain covered with forest. To do so, Brazilian environmental Law allows out-of-court agreements to avoid new lawsuits, to provide a faster response to those involved and to ease lengthy procedural system. Even though environment is considered a diffuse right, Public Prosecution Service try to reach some kind of settlement that make possible to preserve business activities and provide compensation to victims.
However, considering the settlements signed in Goiás, one can notice that public prosecutors have difficulties enforcing these deals. In consequence, environmental problems take longer to be solved since the case ends up in judiciary system. There is no research that evaluates percentage of success obtained in these settlements. To do so, it's necessary to identify some agreements, considering a representative sample, and verify each case in order to determine if public prosecutors can reach a satisfying index that justify the efforts done and the time required to implement them. This, exactly, is the main research goal.
The research aims to question effectiveness of environmental settlements by systematizing the information already collected by the Public Ministry. The research is based on the hypothesis that the noncompliance with the agreements occurs due to difficulties in the elaboration of adequate criteria for the activities of farmers and the peculiarities typical of Cerrado biome. Cerrado is a critical biome because any change done to it may aggravate climate changes in Brazil since the rains in Amazon Forest depend on the rivers located in Cerrado, the same happens to other Brazilian forests. Climate change consequences can reduce soil fertility, production and reduce food sovereignty.

Keywords: Cerrado, climate change, environmental law, rural development

Contact Address: Luciana Ramos Jordão, State University of Goias, Law College, Av. Perimetral Norte N. 4356 Casa 88b Cond. Alto Da Boa Vista, 74445500 Goiânia, Brazil, e-mail: lr.jordaome.com