MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Brazilian government revokes decree opening Amazon reserve to mining
From the moment president Michel Temer signed the decree in August opening the reserve to commercial mining, it was widely condemned. The Brazilian government has revoked a controversial decree that would have opened up a vast reserve in the Amazon to commercial mining. The area, covering 46,000 sq km, straddles the northern states of Amapa and Para and is thought to be rich in gold, iron, manganese and other minerals.
From the moment President Michel Temer signed the decree in August opening the reserve to commercial mining, it was widely condemned. Activists and celebrities voiced concern that the area could be badly compromised.
One opposition senator, Randolfe Rodrigues of the Sustainability Network party, said at the time that it was the “biggest attack on the Amazon in the last 50 years”.
Following the criticism, the government revised the decree, prohibiting mining in conservation or indigenous areas. But a court later suspended the measure altogether, saying any change to the reserve's status had to be considered by the Brazilian congress.
On Monday, the government decided to scrap the decree. It said it would reconsider the issue in the future, in a wider debate.
“Brazil needs to grow and create jobs, attract mining investment, and even tap the economic potential of the region,” said the Mines and Energy Ministry in a statement.
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Read all commentsGood news. Until the government is in a state to enforce environment and safety rules on the mining companies (rather than be bribed into ignoring them), they shouldn't even think of opening up new areas to mining.
Sep 26th, 2017 - 05:24 pm 0Besides, Brazil is already pretty dependent on raw material exports, and that's not good for the economy in the long term.
REF: 'enforce environment and safety rules on the mining companies':
Sep 27th, 2017 - 10:12 am 0The miners are “SUPPOSED” to obtain permission and there is inspection & supervision by the environment-inspectors. But who is going to “inspect the ”INSPECTORS“? In short; who needs ”PERMISSION” to prospect for the eventual mining?
Exactly. Brazil has plenty of laws, but the enforcement is not exactly reliable. Therefore it's best to keep things as simple as possible so no one can hide that they are breaking the law. They still might get away with it, but it's not as easy.
Sep 28th, 2017 - 06:17 pm 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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