Planafloro/Insp. Panel - 2 of 3 (fwd)
Robert Johnson (johnsorl@COLORADO.EDU)
Sat, 29 Jul 1995 16:25:48 -0600
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Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 00:20:42 -0700
From: C Soren Ambrose <soren@igc.apc.org>
To: johnsorl@colorado.edu
Subject: Planafloro/Insp. Panel - 2 of 3
/* Written 11:00 AM Jun 21, 1995 by ax:foeamazonia in igc:rainfor.worldb */
/* ---------- "Planafloro/Insp. Panel - 2 of 3" ---------- */
III. Zoning and State Conservation Units
3.1 Planned Actions in PLANAFLORO
The institutional reform program defined in the
contractual agreements of PLANAFLORO includes, among other
measures: i) the "institutionalization" of the
socio-economic and ecological zoning of Rondtnia and ii)
"strengthening of a State land institute to develop and
administer state land policy, in accordance with the
agroecological zoning" (IBRD 1992:46)1
In the contractual agreements for PLANAFLORO, the
establishment and maintenance of a series of state
conservation units was defined. In Section 2.10 of the
Project Agreement, it was determined that the Government
of Rondtnia would maintain the following units: Serra dos
Trjs Irmcos Ecological Station; Guajara-Mirim, Candeias
and Rio Corumbiara State Parks; Rio Ouro Preto and
Tragadal State Biological Reserves; Rio Sco Domingos, Rio
Abunc, Rio Roosevelt and Rio Madeira State Forests; and
the Rio Preto/Jacunda Extractive Reserve.
In Section 2.11 of the Project Agreement, it was
determined that by September 30, 1993, the Government of
Rondtnia would create by decree, and subsequently
maintain, the following state conservation units: Serra
dos Parecis and Serra dos Reis State Parks; Rio Pacaas
Novos/Rio Novo, Sco Miguel/Pedras Negras, Jacm-Parana and
Rio Cautario Extractive Reserves; Rio Guapori, Rio
Mequens, Rio Machado and Rio Vermelho State Forests.
3.2 Evidence of Deviations
With regard to compliance with these aspects of the
contractual agreements for PLANAFLORO, we would like to
point out the following facts:
1. Despite the existence of state legislation on
socio-economic and ecological zoning, its effective
"institutionalization", as anticipated in the PLANAFLORO
contractual agreements, has been compromised. It should be
emphasized that Complementary Law no. 52 of 12/20/91 (the legal
basis for the state zoning plan) determines in article 7 that
enabling regulations should be issued by the State Executive
within a period of sixty days. Such a legal act is necessary to
define directives and norms on issues such as the management of
natural resources in various zones and sub-zones, the elaboration
of future "approximations" of the zoning plan, and the creation
and establishment of state conservation units.
The enabling regulations for Complementary Law no. 52 were
not issued until the signing of Decree no. 6.316 of 3/2/94
(a delay of more than two years).2 Moreover, this decree
limited itself to repeating, in a sparse and imprecise
manner, what had already been set out in Complementary Law
no. 52. As such, Decree 6.316 does not contribute
effectively to overcoming the problems with the
"institutionalization" of the state zoning legislation, as
defined in the PLANAFLORO loan documents.
2. ITERON has not structured itself to assume the role of
coordinating state land tenure policy and the administration of
public lands in Rondtnia. For example, ITERON has not yet
presented technical proposals to INCRA justifying the transfer of
federal lands to the state domain, as required by federal
legislation (Decree no. 2.375 of 11/24/87). As such, ITERON is a
land institute without lands, which makes its very existence
questionable.
3. To date, the following conservation units have not been
created as required by Sections 2.10 and 2.11 of the Project
Agreement: Rio Sco Miguel/Pedras Negras, Jacm-Parana and Rio
Cautario Extractive Reserves; and Rio Guapori State Sustained
Yield Forest.
4. In general terms, the Government of Rondtnia has not taken
the necessary legal and institutional steps to guarantee the
effective creation and establishment of state conservation units,
especially with regard to procedures for land tenure
regularization.3 In some cases, the creation of state
conservation units requires the definition of new legal
categories, as in case of "State Extractive Forests" and "State
Sustained Yield Forests". The Government of Rondtnia has not yet
taken concrete initiatives in this regard.
5. Over the last several years, while INCRA has promoted a
literal parceling out of lands within state conservation units,
the Government of Rondtnia has not taken a single preventive
action to counter this problem, despite its responsibilities
established in Sections 2.10 and 2.11 of the Project Agreement.
Examples of this problem can be found in the following state
conservation units: Rio Corumbiara, Candeias and Serra dos Parecis
State Parks; Rio Sco Domingos and Rio Abunc State Forests, and the
Rio Preto/Jacunda Extractive Reserve.
Despite its legal attributes as "guardian" of the state
zoning plan in Rondtnia, ITERON has not questioned the
constant disregard for the socio-economic and ecological
zoning, on the part of government agencies such as
INCRA.4
6. During 1994, ITERON contracted private companies, using
World Bank loan funds, to carry out the demarcation of various
conservation units. However, these demarcations presented a
series of grave irregularities.
First of all, in many cases the demarcations contracted by
ITERON in 1994 did not correspond to the original borders
of state conservation units, as defined in the decrees
that created them. In these cases, the demarcations
excluded areas where INCRA had irregularly granted land
titles or areas that were simply the object of land
speculation, aiming at serving the interests of land
speculators, cattle ranchers and logging companies.5
For example, in the case of the Corumbiara State Park
(created by Decree no. 4.576 of 3/23/90), the demarcation
contracted by ITERON excluded 159,215 hectares, serving
the interests of large cattle ranchers and land
speculators. The area excluded from demarcation
corresponds to various land titles granted irregularly by
INCRA during 1991-92 (in other words, after the creation
of the State Park) or in areas of simple land-grabbing
(grilagem).
In the Guajara-Mirim State Park, established by Decree no.
4.575 of 3/20/90, the area demarcated by ITERON excluded a
significant area (51,665 hectares) including a mountainous
region characterized by a fragile ecosystem. In reality,
this "reduction" of the Guajara-Mirim State Park had the
strategic function of facilitating the opening of the
BR-421 highway between the cities of Nova Mamori (on the
border with Bolivia) and Ariquemes (on the BR-364
highway), thus permitting access to an isolated region by
logging companies, cattle ranchers, land speculators and
others.
In addition, there are indications of overpricing in the
procurements contracted by ITERON for demarcation of
conservation units, including values superior to those
established in the 1994 annual operating plan (POA).6
It should be noted that Section 2.10 of the Project
Agreement of PLANAFLORO includes the Corumbiara State Park
and the Guajara-Mirim State Park among those state
conservation units that should be maintained by the
Government of Rondtnia
3.3 Attempts to Alert the World Bank
With regard to deviations in the implementation of the
socio-economic and ecological zoning plan and state
conservation units, we emphasize the following attempts to
alert the World Bank:
3.3.1 Socio-Economic and Ecological Zoning
1. In a letter dated December 11, 1989, signed by Osmarino
Ambncio Rodrigues (CNS) and Ailton Krenak (UNI) and sent to Mr.
Shahid Hussain (Vice President for Latin America and the
Caribbean) and Armeane Choksi (Director, Brazil Department) of the
World Bank (ANNEX 1.B), it was requested that:
...before the approval of a loan, the Bank clarify what guarantees
it will have to ensure the implementation of the agro-ecological
zoning...
2. In a correspondence dated January 9, 1990, signed by 35
Brazilian and international non-governmental organizations, sent
to Mr. E. Patrick Coady, Executive Director of the World Bank
(ANNEX 1.C); it was demanded, among other measures, that the
PLANAFLORO loan disbursements be conditioned on the inclusion of a
timetable (to be submitted to the Bank for inclusion in the Loan
Agreement) with measures to:
...establish the physical integrity of the agroecological zones,
particularly zone 04, designated for extractive activities.
Currently, the project lacks specific measures and timetables to
commit the Brazilian authorities to ensure the integrity of the
proposed agroecological zones. For example, areas designated as
extractive production reserves are suffering from ongoing road
construction, government endorsed land claims, illegal logging,
land speculation and forest clearing.
3. In a memorandum from the Forum of NGOs of Rondtnia sent to
Mr. Luis Coirolo of the World Bank on 5/12/92 (ANNEX 3.B), it was
initially emphasized that NGOs were not being included in the
discussions regarding the state zoning plan:
Even though the state zoning plan constitutes the basis for the
planning of all of PLANAFLORO's activities, non-governmental
organizations have been marginalized in the activities of the
Socio-Economic and Ecological Zoning Commission of Rondtnia. The
great majority of NGOs do not participate in this commission (as a
matter of fact, not a single environmental organization). It is
worth pointing out that many important decisions are being made in
the Technical Sub-Commission for Zoning, where there is no
participation by non-governmental organizations."
Later, the document states:
There does not yet exist a clear definition regarding the role of
the state government in the land tenure policy of Rondtnia,
specifically the role of the State Land Institute (ITERON), whose
structure is currently inoperative and which is not fulfilling the
role for which it was created.
4. In the document entitled "Report on the Conditions of
Effectiveness in the PLANAFLORO Contractual Documents", written by
the Institute for Amazonian and Environmental Studies (IEA) in
September 1992 (ANNEX 10), it was informed that:
With regards to the institutionalization of the zoning plan,
Complementary Law no. 52 of 12/20/91, governing the socio-economic
and ecological zoning of Rondtnia, anticipates that enabling
legislation should be issued by the State Executive within a
period of 60 (sixty) days; this has not yet occurred.
5. In the document entitled "Record of the Meeting on
Preliminary Impressions Pertinent to the Implementation of
PLANAFLORO", held on September 27, 1993 with the participation of
members of the Independent Evaluation Committee (IEC) and a World
Bank representative (ANNEX 11.A), the following observation is
made:
There was agreement on the importance of creating an
inter-institutional working group, involving government and
non-government agencies, with the objective of defining a strategy
for ensuring the compatibility of land tenure policy with the
objectives of the state's socio-economic and ecological zoning and
other environmental legislation. The group, as one of its duties,
should be responsible for the drafting a preliminary version of
enabling regulations for Complementary Law no. 52 of 12/20/91,
which governs the state's socio-economic and ecological zoning.
6. In the report of PLANAFLORO's Independent Evaluation
Committee (IEC), dated March 1994, the problems mentioned above
were again identified. The Executive Summary pointed out:
the absence of effective measures to guarantee the
institutionalization of the socio-economic and ecological zoning
of Rondtnia, particularly the required enabling legislation for
the state zoning law (Complementary Law no. 52 of 12/20/91).
the lack of consolidation and structuring of the Rondtnia State
Land and Colonization Institute (ITERON), in a manner necessary
for it to assume the effective administration of lands and tenure
issues within the State.
7. In the letter dated 6/15/94 from the NGO Forum of Rondtnia
to the President and the Executive Directors of the World Bank
(ANNEX 3.D), demands were repeated in relation to several problems
that had been previously identified, including:
...the omissions of the Government of Rondtnia with regard to
measures necessary to guarantee implementation of the
socio-economic and ecological zoning regulations and state
conservation units.
In this document, the Forum criticized the lack of
political interest of the State Government to issue
enabling legislation for the socio-economic and ecological
zoning. With regard to the decree which provided enabling
regulation for Complementary Law no. 52, it was argued
that:
Decree no. 6316 of 03/02/94 does not effectively contribute to
needed regulations for the state zoning law (Complementary Law
No.52), principally with regard to guidelines for natural resource
management within specific zones and measures for the
implementation of state conservation units. Moreover, the decree
does not include a description of the boundaries of the various
zones, including geographical coordinates, as required by article
no. 3 of Complementary Law no. 52.
A draft version of the decree was not previously submitted for
approval to the State Commission for Socio-Economic and Ecological
Zoning, contravening article 1, paragraph IV of Decree no. 5.449
of January 16, 1992. All evidence would suggest that the recent
issuing of enabling legislation on the state zoning plan (Decree
6.316) in the manner carried out by the Government of Rondtnia,
represented nothing more than a maneuver to please the World Bank
(in a "for the English to see" style). Such an attitude, on the
part of the Government of Rondtnia, once more undermines the
efficiency of socio-economic and ecological zoning policy as an
instrument of regional planning.
3.3.2 State Conservation Units
1. On October 13, 1988, Francisco "Chico" Mendes of the
National Council of Rubber Tappers (CNS) sent a letter to Mr.
Barber Conable, President of the World Bank (ANNEX 1.A), in which
he protested the lack of active participation by CNS and other
representative organizations in the elaboration of the Extractive
Reserves sub-component of PLANAFLORO. Furthermore, Chico Mendes
affirmed the following:
We think that the extractive reserves included in Polonoroeste II
only serve to give the governmental proposal to the World Bank an
ecological tone, so much in fashion lately, in order to secure
this large loan.7
The above letter also warned that:
...if the presence of the National Council of Rubber Tappers
continues to be ignored by the Government of Rondtnia, it is
certain that what will be created are not extractive reserves, but
"colonization settlements" with the same errors that led
Polonoroeste to the current disaster. In other words, much money
will be spent on the creation of an infrastructure inappropriate
to forest populations, whose maintenance will be unsustainable,
causing the demoralization of our proposal for the creation of
extractive reserves...
2. In the memorandum sent by the NGO Forum of Rondtnia to Mr.
Luis Coirolo of the World Bank on 5/12/92 (ANNEX 3.B), an alert
was made on the necessity of defining instruments to guarantee the
effective establishment of state conservation units, as
anticipated in PLANAFLORO:
The creation of Extractive Reserves in the State of Rondtnia
depends on the expropriation of various private properties in
order to grant land use concessions to rubber tappers. It should
be emphasized that the implementation of "state extractive
forests" in PLANAFLORO does not anticipate any changes in the land
tenure structure of these areas. Moreover, large properties exist
within the boundaries of "sustained yield state forests" (zone
05), whose owners do not accept the limits imposed by the state
zoning plan with regard to forest clearing and the introduction of
artificial cattle pasture; and who are lobbying state deputies to
revoke the decrees establishing these conservation units.
3. The necessity of hastening the creation of various state
conservation units in Rondtnia (including those defined in the
contractual agreements of PLANAFLORO) as well as the existence of
illegal acts of environmental degradation in these areas were the
focus of a series of documents elaborated by NGOs in Rondtnia,
copies of which were sent to the World Bank.
For example, the following letters from the Rondtnia
Rubber Tappers Organization (Organizagco dos Seringueiros
de Rondtnia -OSR) and ECOPORI (Agco Ecolsgica Vale do
Guapori) were sent to government agencies with copies to
the World Bank. These documents refer to serious problems
in the Guapori Valley, including the Cautario river, an
area identified in the PLANAFLORO loan agreements for
creation of an Extractive Reserve (Section 2.11 of the
Project Agreement):
a) Official Letter (Ofmcio) no. 19/93 from ECOPORI, dated
March 9, 1993; sent to the Governor of Rondtnia, SEDAM,
ITERON and the Forest Police (ANNEX 4.A);
b) Official Letter from OSR and ECOPORI, dated April 26,
1993, addressed to the Secretary of Environmental
Development (SEDAM) of the Government of Rondtnia (ANNEX
4.B);
c) Official Letter no. 042/93 from ECOPORI, dated April
27, 1993, addressed to the President of INCRA (ANNEX
4.C);
d) Official Letter from OSR and ECOPORI, dated June 22,
1993, sent to various state and federal government
agencies (ANNEX 4.E);
e) Official Letter no. 41/94 from ECOPORI, dated April 7,
1994, sent to SEDAM, PMF, and IBAMA (ANNEX 4.H);
f) Official Letter no. 055/94 from ECOPORI, dated May 23,
1994, sent to SEDAM, PMF, ITERON, IBAMA and INCRA (ANNEX
4.J);
4. In the document entitled "Record of the Meeting on
Preliminary Impressions Pertinent to the Implementation of
PLANAFLORO", held on September 27, 1993 with the participation of
members of the Independent Evaluation Committee (IEC) and a World
Bank representative, it was stated that the "inter-institutional
working group" described above should include within its mandate
the responsibility for:
the elaboration of proposals defining the legal guidelines for
Extractive Reserves and other conservation units at the state
level, and proposing complementary rules for the effective
establishment of these state units.
5. In the Executive Summary of the Independent Evaluation
Committee's final report (submitted to the Government of Rondtnia
and the World Bank in March 1994) warnings were again made about:
the lack of definition, on the part of the Government of Rondtnia,
of legal and institutional mechanisms to guarantee the effective
establishment of state conservation units (including needed
actions in land tenure regularization, resource use concessions,
management plans, etc.);
the lack of presentation by ITERON of technical projects to INCRA
to justify the transfer of federal public lands to the state
domain, as well as legal actions necessary for their establishment
(including legislation defining the legal categories of various
state conservation units).
6. In a letter sent to the Central Forestry Unit of the World
Bank, dated May 16, 1994 (ANNEX 3.C), the Forum brought attention
to the existence of governmental policies that were compromising
the directives of conservation and sustainable management of
forests. The specific observations of this letter included the
following:
In the case of "State Extractive Forests", whose creation and
establishment was anticipated in PLANAFLORO, no strategy has yet
been defined for land tenure regularization and resource use
concessions, in contrast with the federal legislation on
Extractive Reserves. Furthermore, the first version of the zoning
was defined without prior field studies and consultations with
local extractive populations. The result of these factors, in
combination with the mistaken policies of INCRA, SEDAM and IBAMA,
has been the constant invasion of areas occupied by rubber
tappers, facilitated by the actions of the governmental agencies
themselves.
7. In the letter dated June 15, 1994, sent to the President
and Executive Directors of the World Bank (ANNEX 3.D), the NGO
Forum of Rondtnia warned that:
The Government of Rondtnia has not taken the necessary legal and
institutional steps to guarantee the effective implementation of
these conservation units, especially with regard to procedures for
land tenure regularization. In some cases, the creation of state
conservation units requires the definition of new legal
categories, as in the case of "State Forests for Sustained Yield"
(timber management). Unfortunately, the Government of Rondtnia
has not yet taken any coherent measures in this regard.
In the same document, the Forum further denounced that:
"the contracting of private companies, by ITERON, to carry out the
demarcation of state conservation units, presents serious
irregularities, including the illegal reduction of their borders;
ITERON is promoting the demarcation of several conservation units
where necessary measures for land tenure regularization have not
been carried out;
ITERON is contracting the demarcation of state conservation units,
without previously arranging for the transfer of Federal public
lands to the State's domain;
ITERON has contracted the demarcation of various "Extractive
Reserves" that simply do not exist. For example, the Rio
Cautario, Curralinho and Baixo Sco Miguel Reserves have not yet
been established by decree. As such, the demarcations will have
no legal effect. At least in the case of the Rio Cautario, this
situation is the result of opposition by local elites, associated
with timber exploitation and cattle ranching, who do not accept
the creation of Extractive Reserves.
3.4 Omissions of the World Bank
Over the past several years, during the preparation and
initial execution of PLANAFLORO, the Bank was negligent in
the face of various problems related to the state zoning
plan and state conservation units. In this regard, we
would like to bring attention to the following points:
3.4.1 State Zoning Legislation
Although the World Bank, since the initial phase of
negotiation for PLANAFLORO, pressed the Government of
Rondtnia to "officialize" the socio-economic and
ecological zoning of the state; such initiatives have been
taken in a timid and insufficient manner, from the point
of view of the loan agreements. In this respect, we
emphasize the following points:
1. The first legal instrument related to the state zoning
plan, Decree no. 3.782 of June 14, 1988, was never fully
implemented due to a lack of enabling legislation, in spite of
legal requirements in this regard. There is no evidence of
oversight on this issue by the World Bank during the period 1988
to 1991.
2 In September 1989, a new State Constitution was passed by
the Rondtnia State Legislative Assembly; in which it was
established, in article 6 paragraph 2, that the state's
socio-economic and ecological zoning would be instituted through a
complementary law. However, it took the Executive branch more
than two years to send a draft of a complementary law for zoning
to the State Legislative Assembly. As mentioned earlier,
Complementary Law no. 52, governing the socio-economic and
ecological zoning of Rondtnia, was only approved by the State
Assembly on December 20, 1991.
During this period, there is no evidence of the Bank
taking initiatives on its own accord to guarantee action
on this issue.
3. As described above, Complementary Law No. 52 of December
20. 1991 determined that enabling legislation should be issued
within a period of sixty days. However, it took the Government of
Rondtnia more than two years until it took an initiative in this
regard, through the issuing of Decree no. 6.316 on March 2, 1994.
During the interim, there is no evidence of efforts by the World
Bank to resolve this issue, despite requirements in the PLANAFLORO
contractual agreements regarding the "institutionalization" of the
state zoning plan.
4. The Aide Memoires from the Bank's supervision missions in
November 1992 (ANNEX 6.A) and September 1993 (ANNEX 6.B), contain
no record of Bank demands regarding measures needed to establish
enabling legislation for the state zoning law (Complementary Law
no. 52 of 12/29/91).
5. In the internal Bank report dated March 25, 1994, entitled
Brazil: Rondtnia and Mato Grosso Natural Resource Management
Projects (Loans 3444-BR and 3492-BR) Status of Implementation
(ANNEX 7.B) it is stated that the Independent Evaluation Committee
(IEC) identified "the necessity of passing enabling regulations
for the zoning law". Later, the report asserts that following the
submission of the IEC report, the Government of Rondtnia approved
enabling regulations for the state zoning legislation and that the
World Bank would conduct a detailed analysis of these
regulations.
It would be appropriate to investigate whether or not the
World Bank completed an analysis of Decree no. 6.316 of
3/2/94, considering the problems mentioned above. To our
knowledge, there is no evidence of the Bank having
questioned the contents of this decree until the August
1994 supervision mission, which was prompted by the
Forum's June 1994 letter.
6. The Aide Memoire between the Government of Rondtnia and
the Rondtnia NGO Forum (ANNEX 6.D) resulting from the Bank's
August 1994 supervision mission determined that the corrective
measures would be taken to guarantee:
the revision of Decree no. 6.316, the enabling regulation for
Complementary Law no. 52, with the proposal for the alternate
decree to be submitted by 10/6/94.
To date, such a measure has not been taken.
7. In the Aide Memoire from the Bank's most recent
supervision mission in April 1995 (ANNEX 6.E), there is no record
of the Bank's having reiterated the importance of promoting the
revision of Decree no. 6.316, despite the government's failure to
comply with the actions outlined in the Aide Memoire dated August
1994.
8. With regard to the "Matrix of Main Environmental Policy
Issues, Measures and Actions" included in PLANAFLORO's
institutional reform program (IBRD 1992:51-52, see ANNEX 7.A), the
following points should be emphasized, in relation to the
socio-economic and ecological zoning plan:
a) According to item 01 of the institutional matrix, the
"monitorable actions" include the "continuous enforcement
of the zoning plan" on the part of ITERON and the Forest
Police. Clearly, this measure has never been
satisfactorily implemented by government agencies and the
World Bank has been negligent in assuring its
implementation.
b) According to item 01 of the institutional matrix cited
above (ANNEX 7.A), the "actions already taken" include
signing of Decree no 3.782 of 6/14/88 and Complementary
Law no. 52 of 12/20/91. However, the passing of enabling
regulations for the state zoning legislation is not
included among the "actions to be taken", in spite of the
legal requirements in this regard and the importance of
this measure for effective implementation of the state
zoning plan.
3.4.2 State Conservation Units
1. Since the initial negotiation phase of PLANAFLORO, the World
Bank has pressed the Government of Rondtnia to formalize the
creation of state conservation units. For example, one of the
Aide Memoire documents from 1989 states that:
The creation of all of the State Conservation Units, without
restrictions on the part of the Federal Government, will be a
basic condition for the disbursement by the Bank of any project
funds. This condition of disbursement obliges IEF and SEMARO to
accelerate the studies corresponding to the creation of these
units, and obliges the State in general to urgently adopt
necessary measures in this regard. (Aide Memoire/IBRD,
Components: Environmental Conservation and Protection and
Sustained Utilization of Forest Resources, August 14, 1989).8
2. During the period of 1989 to 1991, the Governor of
Rondtnia signed decrees creating a series of state conservation
units, largely in response to pressures from the World Bank.
However, the legal deficiencies of these decrees, as described
above, were not the object of scrutiny on the part of the Bank.
3. Similarly, the World Bank did not make demands regarding
the need for ITERON to present technical proposals justifying the
transfer of federal lands to the state domain (or their joint
administration with the state government). These steps are
legally required for effective establishment of the conservation
units defined in the contractual agreements of PLANAFLORO.
4. Largely as a result of pressures from the NGO Forum, the
Aide Memoire from the Bank's September 1993 supervision mission
(ANNEX 6.B) was the first such document to contain commitments
regarding the definition of new legal instruments for effective
establishment of state conservation units. In this document, it
was asserted that:
by November 15, 1993, draft legislation creating the category of
Extractive Reserves will be presented to the State Legislative
Assembly. Subsequently, the respective decrees for the regulation
and creation of each extractive reserve will be issued.
by November 15, 1993, draft legislation creating the category of
State Sustained Yield Forests (FERS) will be elaborated and
presented to the State Legislative Assembly. Subsequently, the
respective decrees for the regulation and creation of each FERS
will be issued.
Unfortunately, these tasks was never implemented.
5. In the documents of the Aide Memoire between the World
Bank, MIR and the Government of Rondtnia dated August 1994 (ANNEX
6.C), the following commitments were made:
SEPLANAFLORO, together with SEDAM and ITERON, and with the support
of UNDP, will, by September 30, 1994, prepare a document defining
the directives and procedures for the establishment of
conservation units in the State of Rondtnia, and will ensure its
submission to the Forum of NGOs and the Environmental CNP
(Normative Planning Commission) for discussion.
...it is necessary to define the legal instruments that will
characterize a "state sustained yield forest" by December 15,
1994;
..SEDAM will undertake in conjunction with the Rondtnia Rubber
Tappers Organization (OSR) and ITERON, and with the support of
UNDP, the elaboration of a Plan for the Establishment of
Extractive Reserves, addressing relevant issues relating to
environmental, land tenure, health and education questions, to be
submitted by November 1994..
To date, these tasks have not been completed.
6. In the Aide Memoires from the World Bank's supervision
missions of 11/92, 09/93 and 8/94, there is an absence of
commitments regarding the creation within specified time limits of
various state conservation units, including those defined in
Sections 2.10 and 2.11 of the Project Agreement: Rio Sco
Miguel/Pedras Negras, Jacm-Parana and Rio Cautario Extractive
Reserves, and Rio Guapori State Sustained Yield Forest).
The Aide Memoire from September 1993 (ANNEX 6.B) defines
time limits for the demarcation of conservation units that
did not yet exist (for example, Rio Cautario, Curralinho
and Jacm-Parana Extractive Reserves), but contain no
evidence of oversight from World Bank on time limits for
the legal creation of such areas.
7. The internal Bank report entitled Brazil: Rondtnia and
Mato Grosso Natural Resource Management Projects (Loans 3444-BR
and 3492-BR) Status of Implementation (ANNEX 7.B) contains no
reference to the irregularities pointed out above, despite the
fact that these issues were addressed in the Independent
Evaluation Committee's report.
8. The Aide Memoire signed by representatives of the World
Bank, MIR, Government of Rondtnia and UNDP during the August 1994
supervision missions (ANNEX 6.C) does not contain any evidence of
oversight by the World Bank on the irregular demarcations
contracted by ITERON, despite violations of Sections 2.10 and 2.11
of the Project Agreement (as denounced in the Forum's June 1994
letter).
Despite promises made in the August 1994 Aide Memoire
between the Forum and the Government of Rondtnia (ANNEX
6.D), ITERON refused to publicly disclose the maps showing
irregular demarcations of conservation units, contracted
with funds from the World Bank loan.
3.4.3 Operational Directives and Policies of the World Bank
In light of the facts presented above, we emphasize the
following points with respect to the operational
directives and policies of the World Bank:
1. According to the World Bank's operational policy on
Forestry (OP 4.36, September 1993), borrower countries should:
"adopt policies and an institutional and legal framework to
guarantee the conservation and sustainable management of existing
forests", (1.d.i).
Furthermore, OP 4.36 asserts that borrower countries
should:
"establish the institutional capacity to implement and enforce
these commitments" (1.d.v).
2. According to the World Bank's operational policy regarding
Wildlands (OP 11.02, June 1986),
To maintain their legitimacy in the eyes of policy-makers and
local populations, Wildland Management Areas (WMAs) must have a
firm legal foundation...Bank staff should ensure that
Bank-supported WMAs are established and managed within a
compatible legal and policy context.
3. We would like to point out that the facts cited above,
referring to the absence of a legal and institutional framework to
ensure the adequate implementation of the socio-economic and
ecological zoning plan and state conservation units, demonstrate
that in the case of PLANAFLORO, the World Bank has not adequately
implemented or enforced the above-mentioned operational directives
regarding forests and wildlands.
3.5 Adverse Impacts on Local Populations
The facts related above, with respect to omissions of the
World Bank in guaranteeing the existence of a legal and
institutional framework for implementation of the state
zoning plan and state conservation units, created an
extremely prejudicial situation for various local
populations in Rondtnia.
In the case of the rubber tappers, the lack of effective
creation and establishment of the Extractive Reserves
defined in the contractual agreements of PLANAFLORO (for
example, Rio Cautario, Rio Sco Miguel, Rio Jacm-Parana)
has resulted in significant harm, since this situation has
facilitated invasions of these areas.
The absence of adequate enabling legislation for the state
zoning plan has, in the case of extractive areas (zone
04), facilitated disrespect by public agencies (such as
INCRA) and subsequent acts of environmental degradation.
For example, in the region of the Cautario river, constant
invasions by logging companies and land speculators,
facilitated by the non-creation of an Extractive Reserve,
has already resulted in serious social conflicts and
environmental damage.
Similarly, indigenous peoples have suffered harm due to
the omissions of the World Bank described in this chapter.
The failure to institutionalize the state zoning plan has
facilitated invasions by logging companies and land
speculators, both in existing indigenous reserves (such as
the AI Uru-eu-wau-wau) as well as other locations
inhabited by isolated indigenous groups (generally in
zones 04, 05 and 06). In the case of the Gleba Buriti
(zone 04), the unbridled frontier expansion associated
with agricultural, livestock and logging has caused
unmeasured harm to isolated indigenous peoples in the
region.
With regards to small farmers, it should be mentioned that
the lack of enabling regulations for the state's
socio-economic and ecological zoning has hindered access
to the most fertile agricultural lands, especially in
zones 01 and 02. At the same time, landless rural workers
have been encouraged to invade areas of restricted use
(according to the zoning plan) and state conservation
units, where they often enter into conflict with the
traditional populations of Indians, rubber-tappers, etc.
Finally, the lack of oversight by the World Bank on
necessary measures for implementation of the zoning plan
and state conservation units, as defined in the official
documents of PLANAFLORO, has contributed to environmental
damage to fragile ecosystems, as in the case of the
Corumbiara and Serra dos Parecis State Parks, as well as
restricted use zones (e.g. Gleba Buritm within zone 04).
Such environmental damage, the extent of which is
difficult to calculate, has negatively affected the
collective interests of civil society, at both the
regional and national levels.
IV. Environmental Licensing and Protection
4.1 Planned Actions in PLANAFLORO
Within PLANAFLORO, the actions of environmental protection
have as their main objective the strengthening of
institutional capacity among responsible government
agencies (IBAMA, SEDAM and the Forest Battalion of the
Military Police) as a means to: a) protect and enforce
the limits of conservation units and indigenous areas,9 b)
control and prevent illegal acts of deforestation, timber
transport and forest fires, and protect endangered
wildlife, and c) promote the sustainable management of
forest areas.
It is worth pointing out that environmental licensing and
protection policies should be linked to the institutional
reform program anticipated in PLANAFLORO, as part of
efforts to:
institute a series of changes in policies, regulations and public
and private investment programs, in order to create a coherent
base of incentives for the sustainable development of Rondtnia
(IBRD 1992:01).10
It should be noted that such initiatives are relevant to
the World Bank's operational policy on Forestry (OP 4.36),
where it is defined that borrower countries should:
adopt policies and an institutional and legal framework to
guarantee the conservation and sustainable management of existing
forests, and
establish the institutional capacity to implement and enforce
these commitments.
4.2 Evidence of Deviations
In spite of the innumerable denunciations on the part of
non-governmental organizations; there persist various
governmental policies in the areas of environmental
licensing and enforcement that compromise the objectives
of conservation and sustainable management of natural
resources and the contractual agreements of PLANAFLORO.
As examples of this problem, we highlight the following
points:
1. The State Secretariat for Environmental Development
(SEDAM) has unduly recognized "declarations of occupation"
(declaragues de posse), irregularly issued by INCRA, as a basis
for granting authorizations for forest clearing and burning, and
has furthermore approved plans for "selective felling" (removal of
wood in areas to be clear-cut) within restricted use area of zones
4 (non-timber forest extraction) and 5 (sustained forest
management).
This mistaken practice was initially supported by State
Decree no. 4.709 of June 19, 1990 and later by State
Decree no. 6.403 of June 10, 1994, both of which
constitute an affront to the state zoning legislation and
the contractual agreements of PLANAFLORO.
2. The State Superintendent of IBAMA has used "declarations
of occupation" and other land documents irregularly-issued by
INCRA to approve "management plans" for timber exploitation.
More disturbingly, IBAMA has approved plans for "forest
management" (in reality, plans for tree-felling that lack
a technical basis) without consideration for the
directives of the state zoning legislation. For example,
IBAMA routinely approves large timber exploitation
projects that are located in areas of restricted use
according to the zoning plan, and in disregard of other
legal restrictions.
This practice was "officialized" by Service Order
no.005/94/-GAB/SUPES/RO of February 10, 1993, issued
irregularly by the State Superintendent of IBAMA in
Rondtnia.11
3. Based on Service Instruction no.001/94/SUPES/RO of
February 9, 1994 (ANNEX 9.D), the State Superintendent of IBAMA
also permits authorizations for forest clearing and "selective
felling" without reference to the state zoning plan. In this
manner, IBAMA has already approved various "selective felling"
projects, allowing for clear-cutting of 50% of private properties,
within zones 04 and 05.
4. Based on authorizations for forest clearing and timber
exploitation, IBAMA has granted "Authorizations for the Transport
of Forest Products" (ATPFs) that legalize the transportation of
roundlogs to local sawmills. In reality, such documents issued by
SEDAM and IBAMA are deliberately used to disguise the illegal
removal of a huge volume of timber from vast areas, principally
indigenous reserves and other conservation units. In other words,
the policies of government agencies responsible for environmental
protection in Rondtnia have an inverse function: i.e. to
facilitate environmental degradation.
5. Actions in enforcement and environmental protection in
Rondtnia have recently been rendered practically unviable, as a
result of the failure of IBAMA, SEDAM and the Forest Battalion to
sign the cooperative agreements envisaged in the official
PLANAFLORO documents (Section 2.12 (b) of the Project Agreement).
6. In addition to the facts stated above, there exist
innumerable examples of political interference in the
environmental agencies that operate in Rondtnia (IBAMA, SEDAM,
Forest Police); this interference has resulted in the paralysis of
enforcement activities aimed at preventing illegal acts of
deforestation, timber exploitation, etc.
4.3 Attempts to Alert the World Bank
The following presents some examples of attempts to inform
the World Bank about the problems described above:
1. In the "Open Letter" of March 12, 1992, sent by the Forum
of NGOs of Rondtnia to the Executive Directors of the World Bank
(ANNEX 3.A), it was alerted that:
"...The majority of the areas defined for sustainable timber
management are being pillaged, due to the negligence of SEDAM, the
Forest Police and IBAMA. There are various cases of documents
irregularly issued by these agencies, which reflect the political
interference of economic interests associated with the predatory
exploitation of timber in zone 05 and even areas of permanent
preservation (zone 06)..."
2. The contradictions in environmental licensing policies,
along with the ineffectiveness of enforcement activities, have
been communicated to the World Bank in several documents
elaborated by the NGOs in Rondtnia.
As evidence, we refer to the following documents of the
Rondtnia Rubber Tappers Organization (OSR) and ECOPORI
sent to government authorities, with copies to the World
Bank:
a) Official Letter no. 19/93 from ECOPORI, dated March 9,
1993, sent to the Governor of Rondtnia, SEDAM, ITERON, and
the Forest Police (ANNEX 4.A);
b) Official Letter from OSR and ECOPORI, dated April 26,
1993, addressed to the Government of Rondtnia's
Secretariat for Environmental Development (SEDAM-RO)
(ANNEX 4.B);
c) Official Letter from OSR dated June 23, 1993, sent to
SEDAM, ITERON, INCRA, IBAMA, the Forest Police and the
Executive Secretariat of PLANAFLORO (ANNEX 4.F);
d) Official Letter no. 122/93, from ECOPORI, dated
November 22, 1993, sent to the State Secretariat for
Environmental Development (SEDAM) (ANNEX 4.G);
e) Official Letter no. 41/94 from ECOPORI, dated April 7,
1994, sent to SEDAM, PMF and IBAMA (ANNEX 4.H);
f) Official letter no. 052/94 from ECOPORI, dated May 14,
1994, addressed to the President of IBAMA (ANNEX 4.I);
g) Official letter no. 55/94 from ECOPORI, dated May 23,
1994, addressed to SEDAM, PMF, ITERON, IBAMA and INCRA
(ANNEX 4.J).
3. On May 4, 1993, ECOPORI sent Official Letter no. 048/93 to
Mr. Francisco Vita, the local World Bank representative in Cuiaba
(Mato Grosso) denouncing invasions of extractive areas that were
encouraged by the environmental licensing practices of SEDAM, the
ineffectiveness of enforcement actions, and the Government of
Rondtnia's lack of political interest, in the face of large
logging and cattle ranching interests (ANNEX 4.D).
4. In the first report of the Independent Evaluation
Committee (IEC) of PLANAFLORO, problems were also identified with
respect to environmental licensing policies and enforcement
activities. The Executive Summary of the report warns about:
the existence of contradictory policies and procedures for
environmental licensing, on the part of state and federal
environmental agencies (SEDAM and IBAMA, respectively). The
inappropriate application of legal instruments, particularly with
regard to permits for forest clearing and commercial logging, have
actually encouraged the indiscriminate and predatory use of
natural resources.
In this regard, it should be emphasized that: i) SEDAM has issued
licenses for forest clearing (including within the restricted
areas of zones 04 and 05) without field inspections or requiring
prior demonstration of formal land ownership and ii) IBAMA has
approved plans for selective logging and "forest management",
without consistent technical criteria and field inspections. The
above practices are prerequisites for the granting by IBAMA of
"Authorizations for the Transport of Forestry Products" (ATPFs)
which are widely used by timber companies to facilitate illegal
logging operations within vast tracts of forest, including
indigenous reserves and other conservation units.
...additional factors limiting the effectiveness of activities in
environmental protection, such as: i) the insufficient
involvement of the State Public Prosecution Service (Ministirio
Pzblico Estadual), that has remained ill-prepared to address
current demands on environmental issues, ii) the lack of police
investigations into environmental crimes, and iii) the lack of
collection of fines, on the part of the State Prosecution Service,
among those charged with environmental crimes (such fines have not
been registered in public finances as debts owed to the state)
5. The letter from the Forum of NGOs of Rondtnia to the
"Central Forestry Unit" of the World Bank, dated May 16, 1994
(ANNEX 3.C) criticized the environmental licensing policies of
government agencies in Rondtnia, making the observation that:
...all of this documentation provided by SEDAM and IBAMA is used
to disguise the illegal extraction of huge volumes of timber from
vast areas, principally indigenous areas and other conservation
units.
In other words, the policies of the government agencies
responsible for environmental protection in Rondtnia have an
inverse function: to facilitate environmental degradation. At
the same time, indiscriminate deforestation on large estates and
public lands simply invaded for speculative purposes, as well as
the uncurbed theft of timber, typically go unpunished, as a result
of the traffic of influence within government agencies such as
IBAMA and SEDAM.
Unfortunately, such mistaken policies in the area of environmental
licensing and protection have not been questioned by the staff of
the IBRD or by the governmental authorities responsible for the
administration of PLANAFLORO.
6. In the Forum's letter of June 15, 1994 to the World Bank,
denunciations were once again made regarding:
...the lack of coherence in the current system of environmental
licensing, in which authorizations for forest clearing, burning
and timber exploitation disregard the state zoning regulations and
environmental legislation, therefore encouraging acts of
environmental degradation, including the illegal exploitation of
timber in indigenous areas and other conservation units;
...the ineffectiveness of the present system of environmental
protection and enforcement, mainly due to interventions by
political and economic interests, resulting in a situation of
generalized impunity that encourages illegal practices of
environmental degradation.
4.4 Omissions of the World Bank
During the preparation and initial execution of
PLANAFLORO, the World Bank was negligent in the face of
various problems related to PLANAFLORO's environmental
protection activities. These omissions are contradictory
to the Bank's determination to establish an institutional
framework of public policies aimed at conserving and
sustainably managing natural resources, as described in
the contractual agreements of PLANAFLORO (Section 3.04 of
the Loan Agreement, Section 2.14 of the Project
Agreement).
As evidence of the World Bank's omissions, we would like
to bring into consideration the following facts:
1. The Aide Memoire documents from the Bank's supervision
missions in November 1992 (ANNEX 6.A) and September 1993 (ANNEX
6.B) contain no commitments regarding changes in the environmental
licensing procedures of SEDAM and IBAMA, in spite of alerts from
NGOs and the contractual agreements of PLANAFLORO.
2. In the World Bank's internal report entitled Brazil:
Rondtnia and Mato Grosso Natural Resource Management Projects
(Loans 3444-BR and 3492-BR) Status of Implementation (March 25,
1994) (ANNEX 7.B), the only mention of the problems involving
environmental licensing appears in a reference to the preliminary
report of the Independent Evaluation Committee (IEC). Even here,
in contrast to the detailed description of problems in the IEC
report, the internal Bank document simply cites:
the need to improve environmental licensing practices, with
particular attention to forestry exploitation.
3. During the World Bank/MIR supervision mission of August
1994, the principal objective of which was to discuss the Forum's
June 1994 letter to the President and Executive Directors of the
Bank, there were finally some advances made in the discussions
regarding the problems of environmental licensing and protection.
The Aide Memoire of August 9, 1994, signed by the
Government of Rondtnia and the Forum of NGOs of Rondtnia
(ANNEX 6.D), registers the following measures with regard
to "Environmental Monitoring, Protection and Licensing":
The Public Policy Working Group shall revise IBAMA's Service
Instruction no. 001 and Service Order no. 005; and present by
9/30/94 a proposal for needed revisions or otherwise cancellation
by the President of IBAMA;
The Working Group shall revise the proposal for the agreement
between IBAMA and the Government of Rondtnia, adapting it to
current reality and securing its effectiveness by 9/30/94.
The Technical Cooperation Program of UNDP will draft a proposal
for training in environmental legislation and operational
procedures, with regard to environmental protection and licensing,
by 10/15/94.
Moreover, the Aide Memoire signed by the IBRD, MIR and the
Government of Rondtnia on August 12, 1994 (ANNEX 6.C),
states that:
SEDAM will be responsible for the legal establishment, by
September 30, 1994, of the continuation of an agreement with IBAMA
aimed at promoting the conservation of nature and its resources,
especially in observance of the federal Forestry Code and Law for
Protection of Fauna. To make it better suited to PLANAFLORO, this
agreement should include new clauses making viable a better
integration of the two institutions for the optimization of
programmed actions. These clauses may consider the revision of
licensing procedures, with an emphasis on instruments such as
Service Order no. 005/04/SUPES/RO of 2/10/93 and Service
Instruction no. 001/94/SUPES/RO of 2/9/94, whose application has
largely contributed to the intensification of deforestation in the
State, aside from promoting conflicts with relation to the state
zoning plan.
However, none of the measures in environmental licensing
and protection have been carried out, as anticipated in
the Aide Memoire from the Bank's August 1994 supervision
mission.
4. In the Aide Memoire from the Bank's latest supervision
mission (March-April 1995), there is no evidence of demands from
the Bank regarding implementation of revisions in environmental
licensing policies, as defined in the commitments of the Aide
Memoire dated August 1994 (ANNEX 6.E).
5. As previously described, the Bank's operational policy on
Forestry (OP 4.36) states that borrower countries should:
adopt policies and an institutional and legal framework to
guarantee the conservation and sustainable management of existing
forest, (1.d.i) as well as establish the institutional capacity
to implement and enforce these commitments (1.d.v).
The problems described in this chapter, related to
environmental licensing and protection, illustrate that in
the design and implementation of PLANAFLORO, the Bank has
not adequately followed its own operational directives
regarding both Forestry (OD 4.36) and Wildlands (OP
11.02)
6. The "Matrix of Environmental Policies, Measures and
Actions" which formed the basis of PLANAFLORO's institutional
reform program (ANNEX 7.A), contemplates environmental licensing
and protection actions in various items.
According to items 01, 02 and 07 of the institutional
framework, the "monitorable actions" include the
utilization of remote sensor images to monitor the
integrity of the state's socio-economic and ecological
zoning and of conservation units (including indigenous
areas), rapidly detecting acts of illegal deforestation,
opening of roads and encroachment (IBRD 1992:51-52).
However, without adequate monitoring on the part of the
Bank, the few initiatives in this regard have been timid
and inconsequential.
4.5 Adverse Impacts on Local Populations
The omissions of the World Bank, with regard to failures
to enforce implementation of necessary reforms in
environmental licensing and protection within PLANAFLORO,
have permitted the continuation of government policies and
practices that encourage invasions of protected areas and
other acts of environmental degradation.
We argue that such omissions on the part of the Bank have
adversely affected various local populations in Rondtnia,
especially the rubber tappers, riverine populations and
indigenous populations who inhabit the areas where the
predatory use of natural resources has occurred,
principally in the form of deforestation and timber
exploitation.
1 ITERON was created through State Law no. 203 of 6/20/88 as the
main government agency responsible for executing the State's land
tenure policy. Within PLANAFLORO, ITERON was designated as the
principal agency responsible for the implementation of the
socio-economic and ecological zoning of Rondonia.
2 The enabling regulations for the first legal instrument
governing the state zoning plan, State Decree no. 3.782 of
6/14/88, were never issued, despite legal provisions in this
regard.
3 In the case of the decrees which created the existing "State
Extractive Forests" and the "State Sustained Yield Forests", it
was only asserted that these lands and any improvements made
within their perimeters "may be declared for the public use, if
the directives of sustained management are not complied with, in
keeping with the socio-economic and ecological zoning plan of
Rondonia."
In the case of "State Extractive Forests", this deliberate
ambiguity contrasts with the federal legislation on
Extractive Reserves (Federal Decree no. 98.897 of
1/30/90), principally in what it says with respect to land
tenure regularization procedure and use concession to
local communities.
4 For an analysis of political and institutional bottlenecks that
have compromised the performance of ITERON, see the following
documents: a) Diagnsstico Institucional Preliminar de Srgcos
Executores do Plano Agropecuario e Florestal de Rondtnia
(PLANAFLORO), Instituto de Estudos Amaztnicos e Ambientais (IEA),
Porto Velho, November 1992; b) Diagnsstico Institucional: Situagco
Atual de Funcionamento do Instituto de Terras e Colonizagco de
Rondtnia - ITERON e Condigues de Operacionalizagco do Contexto do
Projeto PLANAFLORO, by Raul Ortiz, Land Tenure Consultant,
UNDP-PLANAFLORO, March 1995.
5 As in the case of INCRA, the actions of ITERON have entered
into conflict with article 225, inciso III of the Brazilian
Constitution, with regard to limitations on the alteration or
suppression of areas defined for environmental protection.
6 See: Ortiz (cited above). In general, this problem is related
to the facts described in Chapter VII, regarding project
monitoring, evaluation, supervision, procurement and independent
auditing.
7 In the early stages of the elaboration of PLANAFLORO, its
initial name was "POLONOROESTE II".
8 During a transition in the Rondtnia state government in early
1991, the State Forestry Institute (IEF) and Special State
Secretariat for the Environment (SEMARO) were extinguished with
the creation of the State Secretariat for Environmental
Development (SEDAM).
9 It should be observed that the protection activities are linked
to the obligation of the Government of Rondonia to maintain the
conservation units outlined in the contractual agreements of
PLANAFLORO (Sections 2.10 and 2.11 of the Project Agreement).
10 As pointed out earlier, the said institutional reform program
was addressed in Section 3.04 of the Loan Agreement and in section
2.14 of the Project Agreement.
11 In April 1995, a federal judge in Rondtnia issued a
restraining order, declaring illegal the above-mentioned Service
Order signed by the Superintendent of IBAMA in Rondtnia. This
important decision was the direct result of a Popular Action (Agco
Popular) lawsuit initiated by members of the NGO Forum of
Rondtnia.
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