Environment of Brazil
This article needs to be updated.(June 2019) |
The environment of Brazil is characterized by high biodiversity with a population density that decreases away from the coast.
Brazil's large area comprises different
Extensive legal and
There is a general consensus that Brazil has the highest number of both terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates of any single country in the world.[4] Also, Brazil has the highest primate diversity,[4] the highest number of mammals,[4] the highest number of amphibians, the second highest number of butterflies,[4] the third highest number of birds,[4] and second highest number of reptiles.[4] There is a high number of endangered species,[5] many of them living in threatened habitats such as the Atlantic Forest.
Biota
Climate
Geography
Climate change
Energy
Protected areas
Waste management
In August 2010 the President signed the National Policy on Solid Waste (NPSW) which became the first national law to deal with waste management. However, various states and municipalities already had laws and regulations on the books concerning waste management. The law calls for the Ministry of the Environment to compile a National Plan on Solid Waste with a 20-year horizon to be updated every four years.
Environmental policy and law
This section needs to be updated.(June 2019) |
Brazil has one of the most complete environmental legislations in the world.[6] However, the laws in this legislation haven’t been adequately enforced in the past, compromising their effectiveness towards protecting the natural environment in this nation with a rich biodiversity of fauna and flora.[6]
The
Environmental licensing is a legal obligation before any potentially damaging and polluting activities take place in any part of Brazil’s territory. A framework has been created by the federal government called the
IBAMA is the Brazilian government’s main tool for providing information with regards to environmental welfare and protection, and acts as the “environmental police”. Despite its administrative and financial autonomy, it is responsible for implementing new policies and standards for environmental quality, evaluating environmental impacts, examining environmental degradation and for distributing environmental licenses.[9] IBAMA has the power to impose administrative fines, but when more serious environmental crimes are committed, it is responsible for informing federal authorities for further prosecution.[9]
The challenge Brazil is currently facing is to find a solution as to how powerful actors can be encouraged to abide by environmental regulation and enforce these policies. In order to address this, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a decree on July 22, 2008 that would improve the process of imposing fines and sanctions on people and institutions committing environmental crimes.[10]
Monitoring the occurrence of environmental crimes and policing areas in a country with vast expanses of forests, including the
Environmental issues
See also
- Deforestation in Brazil
- Environmental governance in Brazil
- List of ecoregions in Brazil
- List of environmental issues
- Protected areas of Brazil
- Biomes in Brazil
- Environmentalism in Rio Grande do Sul
References
- ^ USDA Forest Service website, Forest Service International Programs: Brazil, retrieved February 2007.
- ^ PMID 25032475. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
- ^ Brazilian Forestry Legislation Advances April 26, 2012
- ^ a b c d e f Marco Lambertini (2000). "A Naturalist's Guide to the Tropics". Retrieved 2007-06-19.
- ^ Ministério do Meio Ambiente. "Lista Nacional das Espécies da Fauna Brasileira Ameaçadas de Extinção" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2007-06-20.
- ^ a b "17 leis sobre Meio Ambiente". Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2011-04-08.
- ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2011-04-08.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Ministério do Meio Ambiente".
- ^ a b "Institucional".
- ^ "Environmental Law in Brazil - Environment - Brazil".
External links
- Environment Ministry
- Brazil Environment - a resource for information about Brazil's environment