(Adnkronos) – The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies has given the green light to a controversial law that makes environmental licenses more flexible and authorizes projects classified as strategic by the government, even if they have a high polluting potential, a measure that has been harshly criticized by environmental organizations. The law, which enjoyed broad support from the ruralist bloc and the Liberal and Progressive opposition parties, was approved with 267 votes in favor and 116 against after being approved by the Senate last May, according to the newspaper O Globo today.
The law, dubbed the “devastating law” by environmental activists, will now have to be examined by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has 15 working days to approve it or veto it. Specifically, companies will be able to self-certify their compliance with environmental requirements without having to undergo checks by the competent bodies, also eliminating the need to obtain licenses for the expansion of agricultural, road, water and wastewater treatment activities.
The law also repeals some parts of the law on the Mata Atlantica, a primeval forest that extends from Rio Grande do Norte to Rio Grande do Sul, reaching inland as far as Paraguay and the Argentine province of Misiones, which will facilitate deforestation in primary and secondary forests. The measure also removes the protected area status for licensing purposes from indigenous and quilombola territories (communities descended from runaway African slaves) that have not been officially recognized.
