Bolsonaro signs decree that threatens Brazil’s caves and grottoes

President Jair Bolsonaro signed a decree (Federal Decree 10.935/2022) that allows constructions and the mineral exploitation of cave areas when considered of “public utility”, revoking the previous regulation (Federal Decree 99.556/1990) that legislated on the protection of Brazilian underground natural resources. Mining activities and construction of highways, railroads, and hydroelectric plants are examples of possible projects.

With the new measure, caves considered of maximum relevance may suffer irreversible negative impacts, as long as the entrepreneur receives authorization from local government. The new decree also changes and weakens the classification of relevance of caves.

Researchers and specialists point out that the damage may be irreparable. The president of the Brazilian Society for the Study of Chiropterans (SBEQ), Enrico Bernard, when interviewed by the newspaper O Globo, classified the act as a“disaster of great interest to mining companies”.

According to an article on the portal O eco published in 2020,the change in the legislation that protects caves has been pleaded by the ministry of Mines and Energy and Infrastructure since 2019.