Misguided policy may jeopardize a diverse South brazilian environmental protection area

Abstract: The Devonian Escarpment (DEEPA), located in the south of Brazil, represents an important area of environmental preservation composed by grasslands, gallery forests, as well as rock outcrops and archaeological sites. A law project (LP 527/2016), which suggests a reduction of the DEEPA area in approximately 70% of its original area (from 393,579 to 125,895 ha), is currently being processed in the Paraná State House of Representatives. Such reduction seems to be related to economic interests (mainly agriculture and mining) in the state of Paraná. If approved, LP 527/2016 will allow farmers to deliberately expand their activities, with the suppression of natural forest as main consequence. Additionally, loss of faunal diversity, contamination of water and soils, and alteration in nutrient cycles are expected, due the intensive use of agrochemicals. In addition to the direct environmental consequences, we expect the disappearance of areas of high geological interest, reducing local geodiversity, as well as substantial economic losses with ecotourism. Brazil is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, where it undertakes to develop strategies to prevent biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation by 2020. An approval of the LP would be contradictory, considering that there are few natural vegetation areas in this region of the country. We emphasize that the proposal of such projects goes against the sustainability in the country and disregard the scientific knowledge generated until then. Thus, it is necessary to develop regional and federal political objectives that guarantee economic development in a balanced way, considering the local bio and geodiversity, not the proposal of mechanisms that destroy them.

摘要：泥盆纪陡崖（Devonian Escarpment, DEEPA）位于巴西南部，是一处集草原、长廊林、岩石露头与考古遗址于一体的重要生态保护区域。目前，巴西巴拉那州众议院正在审议一项法律草案（LP 527/2016），该草案提议将DEEPA的保护范围缩减约70%，即从原有的393579公顷缩减至125895公顷。此次缩减疑似与巴拉那州的农业、矿业等经济利益相关。若该草案获得通过，LP 527/2016将允许农户蓄意扩大生产活动，其主要后果将是原生林遭到清除。此外，由于农用化学品的高强度使用，预计将出现动物多样性丧失、水土污染以及养分循环失衡等问题。除上述直接环境影响外，该草案还将导致具有高地质价值的区域消失，削弱当地地质多样性，并使生态旅游业蒙受重大经济损失。巴西是《生物多样性公约》的缔约国，承诺制定相关战略以在2020年前遏制生物多样性丧失与生态系统退化。考虑到该国该区域的原生植被本就稀缺，该草案若获通过将与巴西的国际承诺相悖。我们强调，此类项目提案违背了巴西的可持续发展理念，且无视了截至目前已积累的科学研究成果。因此，有必要制定区域与联邦层面的政治目标，在兼顾当地生物与地质多样性的前提下实现均衡的经济发展，而非推行破坏此类资源的机制。