The new Brazil development law risk removing the Amazon forests

A new law in Brazil can cause “great environmental harm and human rights violations”, and represents “declining decades” of protection in Brazil, including Amazon, said a United Nations expert in BBC News.

Astrid Puentes Raño, a special course, has been exposed to accelerating development projects, as the country is preparing to host the COP30 climate summit this year.

Legislators have approved plans to simplify the environmental licenses of infrastructure, including roads, dams, energy and mines this month, although the president has not officially agreed to the bill.

Critics called it the “draft law of destruction” and they say it may lead to environmental violations and removal of forests.

Supporters say that the new licensing system at the country level would extend the long and complex process facing companies to prove the authorities that the planned developments do not cause unacceptable environmental damage.

In light of the changes, some developers will be able to publish their environmental impact through the online form of projects that are smaller – the supporters say it will reduce the bureaucracy but critics feel a great concern.

Mrs. Ryano BBC told that she is afraid that lighter regulations will apply to some mining projects “and will affect the Amazon area.

She also said that “extreme anxiety” about automatic renewal plans for some project licenses as no major changes occur, saying: “This will prevent environmental impact assessments from carrying out these projects. Some projects will include mining projects or infrastructure projects where a full evaluation is needed.

“This will also remove forests. Modifications or continuing projects may be removing forests in the Amazon without an appropriate evaluation.”

There was a lot of removal of forests and hitting land in the Amazon with agriculture and mining, and sometimes illegally – but Mrs. Ryano said that the bill was “back” on the efforts made to prevent this.

Its intervention comes two months after the publication of a new analysis Large areas of Amazon were destroyed in 2024With forest fires fed by drought, in addition to the pressure of man -made forests.

Under the new law, environmental agencies will have 12 months – extendable to 24 – to make a decision on granting a license to strategic projects. If this deadline is missed, a license can be granted automatically.

Supporters say that this will give companies certainty by preventing the delays that afflicted the projects, including the electrical dams for clean energy, or railways to transport grains.

Ms. Ryano said that she understood the need for more efficient systems, but the assessments must be “comprehensive” and “based on science.”

The law will also reduce the requirements for consulting traditional or traditional Cuillombola societies – the descendants of the Brazilian Afro slave – in some situations unless they are directly affected.

UN experts have raised fears that rapid tracking reviews can remove some participation and affect human rights.

Supporters of the bill say it will encourage economic development, including for renewable energy projects, which have been held to develop the economy, and reduce the costs of companies and the state.

But critics are afraid that they will weaken environmental protection from the risks of environmental disasters and violate the rights of the indigenous population.

In particular, United Nations experts argue that it may conflict with the constitutional rights that guarantee the right to an environmentally balanced environment – which means that legal challenges may await us.

The Senate and the Parliament Chamber approved the draft law and is now awaiting presidential approval.

President Lula Da Silva until August 8 to report whether he will approve the new law or veto.

The Brazilian Minister of Environment and Change of the Brazilian climate, Marina Silva, strongly opposed the bill, and its conviction as a “death blow” for environmental protection.

But it was at odds with the president on other issues in the past, including proposals to explore oil digging in the Amazon Basin.

Even if the president is the right to veto it, there is an opportunity to try to try to completely abolish the Congress.

The Brazilian Climate Observatory Bell described “the largest environmental setback” since the Brazilian military dictatorship, which has led to the construction of roads and agricultural expansion to increase the removal of forests in the Amazon and the displacement of many indigenous population.

Ms. Ryano said that the Brazil scientists appreciate the draft law “will do protection for more than 18 million hectares in the country, and the size of Uruguay,” adding “huge consequences.”