Judge revokes decree abolishing mineral reserve in Amazon
Environmentalists argue that the abolishing RENCA will turn an untouchable are in the Amazon rainforest vulnerable to a number of illegal activities.
Judge Rolando Spanholo, of the 21st Federal Court of Brasília, ruled the suspension of the decree enacted by President Michel Temer abolishing the National Copper Reserve and Associates (RENCA). The reserve is wedged between the northern states of Amapá and Pará and comprises an area of approximately 47 thousand square kilometers, where copper, gold, manganese, iron and other minerals are reported to be found. Environmentalists argue that the abolishing RENCA will turn an untouchable are in the Amazon rainforest vulnerable to a number of illegal activities.
Despite the statement announcing the revocation of the decree, representatives from environment movements across Brazil, prosecutors and congress from the environmentalist front staged a protest today (Aug 30) against the decree bringing the reserve to an end.
In his ruling, the judge granted a request made in a citizen suit filed by Antônio Carlos Fernandes, according to which the protection area could not be abolished through a decree, but only through a bill, as mandated by the country's environmental legislation.
Spanholo pointed out that Article 255 of the Brazilian Constitution stipulates that areas of environmental protection, especially those located in the Amazon rainforest, can only have be changed through bills approved by the Legislative Branch.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Judge revokes decree abolishing mineral reserve in Amazon
