27/01/2010 - A new model
for the exploitation of natural resources
and land use in the Amazon region - this
is the proposal of the Amazon Ecological-Economic
Macrozoning (EZZ),
which is now available for public consultation
on the Internet (www.mma.gov.br/zee). The
deadline for suggestions to be made by civil
society is March 6.
The Amazon Macro EEZ
is an essential tool for planning and for
environmental and territorial management,
as established under the National Environment
Policy. Its main purpose is to promote the
transition from the current economic model
to a model of sustainable development in
the region. The document discusses the challenges
of this transition and indicates strategies
to be implemented in different sectors of
the economy.
The preliminary document
proposed was drafted by the Coordinating
Committee for Ecological-Economic Zoning
of the National Territory (CCZEE), supported
by the Consortium EEZ Brazil and formed
by 14 ministries: Environment, Agriculture,
Social Development, Transport, Justice,
Mines and Energy, Cities, Defense, Science
and Technology, National Integration, Agrarian
Development, Planning, Industry and Commerce,
and the Secretariat of Strategic Affairs
and Development. Representatives from each
of the nine Amazonian states also participated.
The Macro EEZ indicates
specific actions for each region and also
general strategies to be implemented throughout
the Amazon, such as the recognition of the
territoriality of people from indigenous
and traditional communities and the creation
of new Conservation Units.
A focal point of the
preliminary document highlights the breakdown
of the model based on the expansion of agricultural
frontiers, and suggests replacing them with
activities arising from natural resources,
such as the extraction of biodiversity products,
certified timber industry, ecotourism, fish
farming and aquaculture.
In some places, agriculture
will not be superseded, but will not be
expanded. The orientation of the EEZ is
the most productive and intensified use
of the areas already open, which should
be complemented with a program for the recovery
of several degraded areas.
The final proposal will
be forwarded by the minister of the Environment,
Carlos Minc, for the sanction of President
Lula probably at the end of March.
Public Consultation
Those interested in
contributing with proposals to the document
must fill out the form available on the
website www.mma.gov.br/zee, which can be
sent over the Internet, by mail or be delivered
directly into the MMA.
