UCs in Pará will receive environmental compensation for the installation of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Plant
Federal Court decision meets Public Civil Action (ACP), filed by the Attorney General's Office of the State (PGE) and the Federal Public Ministry (MPF)
The state and federal Conservation Units (UCs) located in Pará will receive the amount of R$ 92 million as environmental compensation due from the company Norte Energia S/A, responsible for the construction of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Plant in the Xingu River Basin, near the municipality of Altamira, in northern Pará. The decision is from the Federal Court of the 1st Region and meets the Public Civil Action (ACP) filed by the Attorney General's Office of the State (PGE) and the Federal Public Ministry (MPF).
The judicial determination was issued on the 10th of this month, after nine years since the filing of the public civil action by the PGE and the MPF. At that time, both institutions requested the suspension of the allocation of compensation funds to the Jurema National Park, located in the State of Mato Grosso, as explained by the state attorney, Ibraim Rocha.
“This is a historic decision for our State. This is because, in 2016, we filed a Public Civil Action requesting that the decision of the Federal Environmental Compensation Committee (CCAF) be reviewed, which at the time allocated R$ 92 million to the Jurema National Park, which is, nothing more, nothing less, at a distance of 814 kilometers from the location where the direct impacts from the installation of the plant occur. In other words, the State of Pará, the main affected by the social and environmental impacts of this construction, would cease to be the main beneficiary of the compensation,” stated the state attorney, Ibraim Rocha.
In the ACP, the Government of Pará and the MPF requested that the application of the funds be directed to conservation units within Pará as a whole, regardless of federal, state, or municipal spheres, going against what was determined by the CCAF, a committee composed of representatives from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) and the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio).
Compensation – In July 2014, the CCAF decided, during its 29th Ordinary Meeting, that the funds due as compensation for the enterprise, amounting to just over R$ 126 million, would be distributed as follows: R$ 92 million to the Jurema National Park in Mato Grosso, and R$ 34 million to conservation units located in the Xingu River Basin in Pará.
“The decision drew attention because it allocated more than 72% of the total amount to a single unit, located in a distant area, unaffected by the impacts of the plant, and only 27% to the UCs in the area where the impacts were directly felt. It is important to emphasize that the energy production of the Belo Monte Plant is primarily destined for supplying industrial hubs in the South and Southeast of the country. Thus, Pará would be doubly sacrificed by the management: both regarding the compensatory resources; and for not being the main beneficiary of the operation of the hydroelectric plant, whether in industrial production or in the collection of the main tax levied on energy, which is the ICMS, whose constitutional regime allocates the collection to the place of consumption and not to the place of its production,” added the state attorney.
New decision – During a conciliation hearing held on September 10 of this year, in a virtual room, it was decided that the resources should only cover conservation units that are within the impact area of the enterprise.
In addition, it was determined that ICMBio should present, within 15 days, the accounts for the destination of each of these units so that the resources can then be released by judicial decision.
“During the hearing, in which all parties involved in the process were present, it was decided to allocate R$ 78 million to federal conservation units in the territory of Pará and R$ 14 million to units of the State System of Conservation Units (SEUC) in the area of direct influence of the Xingu River. In other words, we managed to ensure that 100% of the compensatory resources are applied within our state. A decision like this is also important as it prevents similar cases from happening again,” concluded Ibraim Rocha.
Benefited units – Currently, the State Policy and System of Conservation Units (PEUC/SEUC) is managed by the Institute of Forest Development and Biodiversity of the State of Pará (Ideflor-Bio) and the State Secretariat for Environment and Sustainability (Semas).
At Ideflor-Bio, the resources will be allocated to the conservation units in the Xingu River Region. They are: Tabuleiro do Embaubal Wildlife Refuge; and Vitória de Souzel Sustainable Development Reserve, both located in the municipality of Senador José Porfírio.
“The PGE set a great example of commitment to Pará and to the Amazonian nature by managing to reverse in court the decision regarding the application of the environmental compensation resources from the Belo Monte Plant, ensuring that all of these investments are allocated by ICMBio and Ideflor-Bio to conservation units located in our State. Ideflor-Bio will allocate part of the resources it receives to the Tabuleiro do Embaubal Wildlife Refuge, in the Xingu River, to protect the hundreds of turtles that are born there every year,” informed the president of Ideflor-Bio, Nilson Pinto.
