CONAMA RESOLUTION 237/97 ENVIRONMENTAL LICENSING

Certain activities require environmental licensing for installation and operation. CONAMA Resolution 237 regulates licensing and establishes responsibility for environmental agencies according to their characteristics.

Art. 1. I - EnvironmentalLicensing:“administrativeprocedurebywhichthe competentenvironmentalagencylicensesthelocation,installation,expansionand operationofundertakingsandactivitiesthatuseenvironmentalresources, consideredeffectivelyorpotentiallypollutingorthosethat,inanyway,may cause environmentaldegradation,consideringthelegalprovisionsandregulatoryand technicalstandardsapplicabletothecase.”

The resolution regulates obtaining the Environmental License and Environmental Authorization to carry out the activity and must be carried out in advance. This instrument can be obtained through the executing agency, according to the potential polluting impact.

• National Level - IBAMA

• State level – state agency linked to the environment

• Municipal level – municipal environment department

The license takes place at three levels:

• Prior License - LP (inPortuguese,LicençaPrévia)

• Installation License - LI (inPortuguese,LicençaInstalação)

• Operating License - LO (valid for 4 years), (inPortuguese,LicençaOperação)

Licenses may require additional conditions for obtaining and maintaining them, which must be complied with as agreed with the executing agency.

LAW 9.985/2000 NATIONAL SYSTEM OF NATURE CONSERVATION UNITS

The National System of Nature Conservation Units (SNUC) defines territories with special characteristics, designated for the protection of their resources and their natural characteristics with a special administration regime. The purpose of these territories may be for strict protection of natural species, to provide environments for observation and research, to maintain traditional populations, among other ways to guarantee the maintenance of local natural characteristics. Article 2 defines Conservation Units as:

I – “Conservationunit:territorialspaceanditsenvironmentalresources,including jurisdictionalwaters,withrelevantnaturalcharacteristics,legallyestablishedby theGovernment(bylawordecree),withconservationobjectivesanddefinedlimits, underaspecialadministrationregime,towhichappropriatesafeguardsapply.”

Unlike the protected territories that will be addressed in the Forest Code, specifically the APP and RL which are territories provided for by law, the Conservation Units are instituted or created by the public power by law or specific decree for each territory.

There are two main groups:

Group 1 - Full Protection Conservation Units (indirect use)

● Ecological Station – ESEC (inPortugues,EstaçãoEcológica)

● Biological Reserve – REBIO (inPortugues, Reserva Biológica)

● National Park – PN (inPortugues, Parque Nacional)

● Natural Monument – MONAT (inPortugues, Monumento Natural)

● Wildlife Refuge – RVS (inPortugues, Refúgio da Vida Silvestre)

These territories do not allow damage, consumption or collection and even access can be regulated.

Group 2 - Sustainable Use Conservation Units

● Environmental Protection Area – APA (inPortugues,Área de Proteção Ambiental)

● Area of Relevant Ecological Interest – ARIE (in Portugues, Área de Relevante Interesse Ecológico)

● National Forest – FLONA (inPortugues, Floresta Nacional)

● Extractive Reserve – RESEX (inPortugues, Reserva Extrativista)

● Fauna Reserve – REFAU (inPortugues, Reserva de Fauna)

● Sustainable Development Reserve – RDS (in Portugues, Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável)

● Private Natural Heritage Reserve – RPPN (in Portugues, Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural)

These territories allow the use of their resources through authorization and regulation through the executing environmental agency. In other words, tourist exploitation, the settlement of traditional communities, the extraction of forest products, among other forms of regulated exploitation, are possible. Another important feature of these territories that are related to the Forestry Code and agricultural activities are the Buffer Zone and the Ecological Corridors.

Art. 2 VIII -Buffer zone (purpose of restricting human activities so as not to affect the ecological activities of the area)

Art. 2 IX –Ecological Corridors (interconnection between protected areas).

The first consists of areas outside the Conservation Unit in which human intervention must respect criteria so as not to affect the quality of protected areas. Finally, the ecological corridors that connect protected areas with each other, such as two Conservation Units, or even between Legal Reserves or Permanent Protection Areas provided for in the Forestry Code.

LAW 12.651/12 NEW FOREST CODE

The Forest Code, or the New Forest Code is, in practical terms, the law with which agricultural activities are most closely related, as it directly addresses the protection and conservation of natural resources that are important for ecological functions, especially the hydrological cycles. The regulated situations of environmental protection areas are defined as the Permanent Protection Area (APP) and the Legal Reserve (RL). The relevant aspects for rural activity are presented below

Permanent Protection Area

Especially vulnerable areas are classified as Permanent Protection Areas – APP ((in Portuguese,ÁreadeProteçãoPermanente). As per Article 3 II, the definition of APP is:

“Permanent Preservation Area - APP:protectedarea,coveredornotbynative vegetation,withtheenvironmentalfunctionofpreservingwaterresources, landscape,geologicalstabilityandbiodiversity,facilitatingthegeneflowoffauna andflora,protectingthesoilandensurethewell-beingofhumanpopulations.”

The types of permanent protection areas are according to their function, and can be classified as:

Riparian Vegetation – they are marginal strips of perennial or intermittent watercourses, such as rivers. It is mainly understood as riparian vegetation. These have a minimum conservation strip width, considering the measurement from the edge of the watercourse gutter.

The areas around natural lakes and ponds in rural areas are according to the water surface area:

Area < 20 ha – 50 m

Area = > 20 ha – 100 m

Other areas characterized as Permanent Protection Area:

Water reservoir -in the case of artificial reservoirs, the APP area must be determined in the environmental licensing and defined by the competent body for licensing the project.

Water springs– must have their area conserved around a radius of 50 m.

Slopes –in situations where the terrain has a slope greater than 45 degrees, the entire area must be protected.

Tops of areas– including the edges of plateaus or plateaus, the tops of hills, hills, mountains and mountains, with a minimum height of 100 m and an average slope greater than 25 degrees, and areas at altitudes greater than 1,800 m.

Wetlands– in paths, the marginal strip, in horizontal projection, with a minimum width of 50 m, starting from the permanently marshy and swampy space.

Weirs and water mirrors- with an area of less than 1 ha do not require an APP.

Responsibility

The cut-off date for suppression of native vegetation according to the Forest Code is July 22, 2008. All interventions after this date oblige the property owner to recompose the native vegetation and carry out maintenance until its restoration.

Legal Reserve

The Legal Reserve area (RL) is the portion of the total rural property that must have its native vegetation obligatorily conserved for environmental preservation and for the maintenance of natural resources. According to Article 3 III the definition is:

Legal reserve:“area located within a rural property or possession, delimited under the terms of art. 12, with the function of ensuring the sustainable economic use of the natural resources of the rural property, assisting the conservation and rehabilitation of ecological processes and promoting the conservation of biodiversity, as well as the shelter and protection of wild fauna and native flora ;”

The size of the RL area varies according to the biome in which the rural property is inserted. First, it is necessary to define the territory of the Amazon biome, which, for legal purposes, is defined in Article 3 I:

Legal Amazon:“the States of Acre, Pará, Amazonas, Roraima, Rondônia, Amapá and Mato Grosso and the regions located north of the 13th parallel S, of the States of Tocantins and Goiás, and west of the meridian of 44° W, of the State of Maranhão;”

Within this territory, the percentage of mandatory RL that must be conserved is: a) 80% in the property located in forest areas; b) 35% on property located in a cerrado area; c) 20% on property located in the Campos Gerais area;

For all the territory located in the other regions of the country, the RL must be composed of 20% of the total area of the rural property. The image on the left shows the Brazilian federal states for a better understanding of their territory. On the right, the national biomes.

Source: Researchgate

Source: Researchgate

In certain situations, the RL can be included in the APP provided that:

I – does not imply the conversion of new areas, that is, it cannot convert a reserve area to compose a new one in another place of the rural property.

II – the area is already conserved or in the process of conservation.

III – the inclusion of the APP in the RL has been requested through a Rural Environmental Registry (CAR), still in the operationalization process.

Main Certification Standards

The main certification standards identified for the soy chain and with public information made available by the accreditation bodies were listed. Of these, issues of deforestation, compliance with local legislation, environmental protection and conservation criteria, socio-environmental risk management and good agricultural practices directly related to the protection of native vegetation and protected areas were considered.

The certification scopes evaluated were:

● RTRS

● I am Moratorium

● AgroPlus

● GreenProtocolofParastategovernment

● IFC

● PrivatePrograms*(ADM,COFCO,CefetraCRS)

*Private programs were structurally analyzed to determine compliance with deforestation practices, following the confidentiality limits determined by the holders, when applicable.

Analysis Methodology

For the development of comparative analyses between the practices of the different sustainability certification standards, the Methodology for the Food and Agriculture Benchmark proposed by the World Bank Alliance was used, which uses the description of the topic, the desired indicator, the elements and key resources. This analysis was adapted for the purpose of this study. The result of this assessment was succinctly transcribed into four main themes, as described below. A score was assigned according to the requirement covering the topic with more indicators, always on a scale from zero to four.

Legal compliance. This indicator assesses the requirement for legal compliance with national legislation in the certification protocol, or in the audit guidance document. The purpose of this requirement is to cover possible aspects in the certification standard that may be less restrictive than the deforestation criteria established in Brazilian legislation.

Socio-environmental risk management at stakeholder level. This requirement evaluates the existence of indicators for identifying and managing socioenvironmental risks, governance and relationship with interested parties.

Deforestation control. Deforestation criteria, level of compliance with national legislation, with the European directive for renewable energy and the most restrictive level of prohibition of deforestation.

Good Agricultural Practices. This criterion assesses the existence of compliance with good agricultural practices in terms of conservation of the soil, water sources and biodiversity, as well as the management of pesticides and contaminating residues.

The table below briefly presents the score used for analysis and determination of benchmarking indicators.

The Soy Moratorium and the Green Protocol for Grains of Pará have a similar structure, the main difference being that the first is voluntary, that is, participants are audited in relation to their management system and in relation to compliance with national legislation. regarding deforestation. The second is linked to the complaints and notes made by the Public Ministry.

The IFC (International Finance Corporation) Performance Standard was included from the point of view of credit lines and investment and financing funds that has been taking shape with the advancement of the sustainability theme. Several financial institutions adopt the IFC principles to assess the risks of socio-environmental impact on their clients' activities. Institutions began to link social and environmental indicators as a compliance goal linked to the financial project, and deforestation control has often been found among them.

Finally, private programs were analyzed and compared. These have not had information published in detail due to disclosure restrictions. To this end, the structure of these programs within the scope of compliance with environmental legislation in relation to deforestation was evaluated, as well as other possible aspects that directly impact deforestation, or even the existence of additional criteria. In short, when present, the approach of these programs requires compliance with national legislation. The chart below lists the main themes comparing, among the protocols, the level of aspects analyzed and their scope. It is important to emphasize that this study is for the purpose of interpreting the criteria and indicators of the different protocols and does not reflect the opinion of the authors in relation to the protocols and their documents.