Por que o Brasil precisa de suas Reservas Legais
2019
Metzger, Jean Paul | Bustamante, Mercedes M.C. | Ferreira, Joice | Fernandes, Geraldo Wilson | Librán‐Embid, Felipe | Pillar, Valério D. | Prist, Paula R. | Rodrigues, Ricardo Ribeiro | Vieira, Ima Célia G. | Overbeck, Gerhard E.
Brazilian environmental legislation requires private properties to maintain a proportion of their area covered with native vegetation, called Legal Reserves. These areas account for nearly a third of the country's native vegetation and are recognized for their important role in protecting biodiversity and providing a wide range of ecosystem services to landowners and society. Despite its relevance, the establishment of Legal Reserves has been criticized by agribusiness and their representatives in the National Congress. The requirement of Legal Reserves is considered too restrictive and would hinder the full expansion of agricultural activities and therefore hinder the country's development. Here we critically analyze the arguments of a recently proposed bill aimed at completely extinguishing the Legal Reserves. We demonstrate that the arguments used are not supported by data, evidence or theories, and are based on illogical reasoning. In addition, we summarize the key benefits of Legal Reserves, including economic and human health benefits, and emphasize the importance of these reserves for water, energy, food and climate security, and their primary role in assisting the maintenance of biodiversity in landscapes. We also highlight that Legal Reserves are a key component for nature-based solutions that are admittedly more effective and less expensive. They should therefore be considered as assets for the development of Brazil, not as liabilities. Based on the solid scientific evidence available and agreement on the relevance of the Legal Reserves, we strongly oppose any attempt to extinguish or weaken the maintenance of these areas.
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