Bolsonaro administrations softens regulations on artificial reefs

The Brazilian government has taken another step towards its project that aims at installing several artificial reefs along the coast, with the endorsement of the Navy and under criticism from environmentalists. On December 28, the environmental agency Ibama published in the Official Gazette (DOU) a norm (IN 28) that makes the process of environmental licensing for the installation of structures more flexible, including in marine conservation units. “The new text redefines the concept of artificial reef and opens some possibilities that were not foreseen before. In the definition of the 2009 regulation, it stated that the material used should be inert and non-polluting - expressions that do not appear now,” informed the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo.

Two days after its publication, one of IN 28’s most critical points, according to experts, was revoked. The text allowed structures originally licensed for other purposes could be converted into artificial reefs. As an example, oil platforms in disuse could be sunk without the need to remove the machinery. The revocation, however, does not impede the progress of the government’s project to install the structures, which, without proper evaluation of their environmental impact, are considered potential threats to the health of the marine ecosystems along the Brazilian coast.