Ministry of the Environment issues non-statutory decree to reduce Atlantic Rainforest protection

The ministry of the Environment issued a decree, not yet signed by president Bolsonaro, that compromises the protection of the Atlantic Rainforest by favouring licensing of real estate projects. It’s an infralegal, or non-statutory act, meaning that, according to Brazil’s legislation, it can be approved directly by the president without voting at the House of Representatives. Minister Ricardo Salles intents to soften environmental laws by using this kind of legal maneuver. His intentions of doing so became public and went viral in a leaked video of a cabinet meeting in April 2020, when he suggested using the Covid-19 pandemic as a distraction to public opinion while they worked to deregulate environmental norms. “With all this fuss we won’t be able to approve anything at the House of Representatives”, he said.

This is not the first time that the minister tries to weaken the legislation that protects the most endangered Brazilian biome. In the beginning of the month, after intense pressure from civil society and the justice system, Salles retrieved his own order that aimed to provide amnesty to Atlantic Rainforest destroyers. The Atlantic Rainforest biome once covered 15% of Brazil’s territory in 17 States. Now, according to the NGO SOS Mata Atlântica, it’s down to 12,4% of its original extension.