The landscapes of Grande Sertão Veredas, Guimarães Rosa, are threatened by the expansion of soy, termites and livestock

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The action, signed by prosecutor Lauro Coelho, is the result of a technical investigation lasting about a year, during which “the very critical situation in relation to the Grande Sertão Veredas National Park (PNGSV)” was identified, he said.

According to a report from the Pró-Natureza Foundation (Funatura), carried out at the request of ICMBio, park manager, the protection unit “is becoming a Cerrado island surrounded by anthropogenic areas”.

The so-called anthropized areas (which have suffered interference or modification by humans) are, for the most part, monocultures of soya and grass, in addition to extensive livestock farming, which uses fire to renew pastures. There is also, according to the study, “intense use of pesticides and indiscriminate use of water for irrigation”.

Funatura has gathered evidence that the amount of water used to irrigate these crops “depletes water resources and has direct impacts on PNGSV wetlands”. The data indicates a reduction of up to 50% in the flow of rivers and trails, swampy areas typical of the Cerrado with springs inside the park. The reduction in water infiltration into the soil, which maintains watercourses, is aggravated when there are excessive withdrawals for irrigation without taking into account the characteristics of the region, underlines the report.

Wildlife is therefore impacted. Not only because of the lack of water, but also because of the physical barriers that hinder the movement of animals. The park is home to rare species such as the maned wolf, jaguar and scarlet macaw. These animals are the main victims of drought, as O GLOBO showed a year ago.

Funatura interviewed former residents of the territory now occupied by the PNGSV, established in 1989 and expanded in 2004. Reports indicate that the rivers and trails have changed since the 1970s, but the process has intensified since 2010:

“The rains have reduced and the rivers located near their current residences no longer overflow, even during the rainy season, as in the past,” states an extract from the report.

One of the residents, identified as Nilsão, reported that during the rains, the Carinhanha River overflowed so much that it flooded a large area, preventing crossing for two or three months. Another resident interviewed, Pedro, complains that today, even during the rainy season, people are hot, which did not happen in the past.

The report highlights as a significant negative the lack of studies that monitor the issuance of water use permits in plantations surrounding the park. “This situation could lead to an overload of water resources and irreversible ecological conditions within the Grande Sertão Veredas National Park,” concluded Funatura, who proposed coordination between responsible agencies and continued monitoring.

“If this situation continues, the paths will disappear”

Lawyer Lauro Coelho explains that the occupation of land in the surrounding area is authorized by the governments of the states of Bahia, mainly, and Minas Gerais, in addition to the National Water Agency (ANA). Once interventions are approved, ICMBio has no supervisory power. The action is therefore not directly aimed at calling into question these licenses, but at requesting the suspension of new licenses, in order to avoid the expansion of the problem.

— This happens very intensely, at a very high speed. The impact is generated by the removal of native vegetation and direct abstraction of river beds and groundwater. This begins to generate an impact inside the park, very evident in the trails themselves, which are water reservoirs — says the prosecutor. — If this situation continues, the paths will disappear.

In addition to the technical investigation and reports, such as that of Funatura, which supports the action, Coelho says that he personally visited the park, when he was able to see the damage.

— I clearly saw that the native vegetation of the Cerrado was completely in ruins — deplores the prosecutor. — When you look inside the park, it is luxuriant, because it is very preserved, but immediately at the edge, you already see this extraction, the plantations and the enormous crops of grass and soya, with these large irrigation pivots.

The prosecutor explains that the granting of authorizations occurs in an uncoordinated manner between state governments and the ANA.

— These subsidies are granted without taking into account the climate emergency. They are considering the old scenario, expecting average precipitation looking toward the past and not the future, while we have a reduction in precipitation — says the prosecutor, recalling that, unlike the Atlantic Forest, the Cerrado does not benefit from a special protection regime: — In the context of a water crisis, the Cerrado is an essential biome for the sustainability of the country.

The MPF’s action is defended by the Union, ANA, ICMBio, the states of Minas and Bahia and their environmental agencies. It is requested that the institutions prepare and implement an integrated regional structural plan for the recovery and preservation of the region, which will be supervised by the Public Ministry.

This type of action, called structural, is used in cases involving different actors, as is the case of Parque Grande Sertão Veredas. This process was used to repair the damage caused by the Mariana tragedy (MG)

— Since this is a complex problem, it would not be enough for a judge to issue a simple order to resolve it; the sentence is not written. The structural demand calls those responsible for the problem and we debate the solutions — explains lawyer Lauro Coelho.

When contacted, the Minas government said the state attorney general’s office would comment on the files. ICMBio said it had not been informed, but was “aware of the problem”, and highlighted the use of the Funatura study to develop solutions.

The Bahia government said the authorizations follow “careful technical evaluation and that control and inspection of water use are carried out continuously”, and that “surface authorizations have not been granted for a long time in this region”.

The Institute for Environment and Water Resources of Bahia admitted that preliminary studies, which must be deepened, the government emphasizes, indicate that agricultural irrigation systems cause drops of 30 to 40 meters in tube wells in the region, which can alter the regime of the river, with a risk of reduction of flow and drought.