Why Brazil needs its Legal Reserves

Author(s):Show less -

Metzger, Jean Paul ^[1] ; Bustamante, Mercedes M. C. ^[2] ; Ferreira, Joice ^[3] ; Fernandes, Geraldo Wilson ^[4] ; Libran-Embid, Felipe ^[5] ; Pillar, Valerio D. ^[6] ; Prist, Paula R. ^[1] ; Rodrigues, Ricardo Ribeiro ^[7] ; Vieira, Ima Celia G. ^[8] ; Overbeck, Gerhard E. ^[9] ; Signatories, 407 Scientist

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Ecol, Inst Biosci, Rua Matao 321, Travessa 14, BR-05508090 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Brasilia, Dept Ecol, Inst Biol Sci, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, BR-70910900 Brasilia, DF - Brazil

^[3] Embrapa Amazonia Oriental, Caixa Postal 48, BR-66095100 Belem, Para - Brazil

^[4] Univ Fed Minas Gerais, Dept Biol Geral, BR-30161901 Belo Horizonte, MG - Brazil

^[5] Georg August Univ, Agroecol, Dept Crop Sci, Grisebachtrasse 6, D-37077 Gottingen - Germany

^[6] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Dept Ecol, Ave Bento Gonolves 9500, BR-91501970 Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

^[7] Univ Sao Paulo, ESALQ, Dept Biol Sci, Luiz de Queiroz Coll Agr, BR-13418900 Piracicaba - Brazil

^[8] Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, MCTIC, Caixa Postal 399, BR-66040170 Belem, Para - Brazil

^[9] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Dept Bot, Ave Bento Goncalves 9500, BR-91501970 Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PERSPECTIVES IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION; v. 17, n. 3, p. 91-103, JUL-SEP 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 2

Abstract

Brazil's environmental legislation obliges private properties to retain a fixed proportion of their total area with native vegetation, the so-called ``Legal Reserves{''}. Those areas represent practically one third of the country's native vegetation and are well known for their role in biodiversity protection and in the provisioning of a wide range of ecosystem services for landowners and society. Despite their relevance, this instrument has been criticized by part of the agribusiness sector and its representatives in the Brazilian Congress. The Legal Reserve requirement is said to be too restrictive and to impede the full expansion of agricultural activities, and thus to be detrimental for the development of the country. Here, we critically analyze the arguments employed in the justification of a recently proposed bill that aims to completely extinguish Legal Reserves. We demonstrate that the arguments used are mostly unsupported by data, evidence or theory, besides being based on illogical reasoning. Further, we synthesize the principal benefits of Legal Reserves, including health and economic benefits, and emphasize the importance of these reserves for water, energy, food, and climate securities, in addition to their primary function of assisting in the maintenance of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. We also highlight that Legal Reserves are a key-component for effective and less expensive nature-based solutions, and thus should be considered as assets for the development of Brazil rather than liabilities. Based on available sound scientific evidence and agreement on their relevance, we strongly oppose any attempt to extinguish or weaken the maintenance of Brazil's Legal Reserves. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. on behalf of Associacao Brasileira de Ciencia Ecologica e Conservacao. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/23364-1 - Spatial-temporal dynamics of yellow fever virus in the State of São Paulo, Brazil
• Grantee: Paula Ribeiro Prist
• Support type: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• FAPESP's process: 17/11666-0 - Yellow fever: transmission risk due to landscape changes and climate alterations
• Grantee: Paula Ribeiro Prist
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 13/50718-5 - Ecological restoration of riparian forests, native forest of economic production and of degraded forest fragments (in APP and RL) based on restoration ecology of reference ecosystems in order to scientifically test the precepts of the New Brazilian Forest Code
• Grantee: Ricardo Ribeiro Rodrigues
• Support type: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants