GEO Brasil - UNEP

environmental management
Territorial practices that stimulate
these tendencies are in a transitional
phase. The results, are yet undefined
in the long term. However they can
be synthesised from two directions.
On one side, there is an urbanindustrial
spread, in almost all the
biomes. On the other side, there is an
increasing movement towards
claiming new land for agriculture and
cattle breeding. This is mainly due to
considerable production increase and
advances in both activities. These
are the undefined issues of a
transitional period. They make it
difficult to construct reliable forecasts.
However, they open up a wide range
of opportunities for conscientious
actions and institutional solutions.
The constitutional reference represents the recognition of these spatial units for
sustainable management purposes. The notion of national heritage, in contrast,
has two functions from the point of view of time management: a synchronic
function, in which it entails mobilisation of resources and strategic options for
sustainable development, and a diachronic function, in which it refers to the
attribution of future purposes.
Thus, the spatial formations become fractions of the national territory that belong
to a differentiated category, as they constitutionally imply three factors: safety,
transmission and institutional character. The first factor, safety, encompasses
conservation of intradiversity and physical-biotic interformations as a necessary
condition to ensure the quality of the environment and the natural resources
within it. The transmission factor, which is closely related to the term heritage,
means that in the future there will be natural resources and the possibility to
renovate the methods for their use for heritage to be shared by. The institutional
factor creates the possibility for the responsibility of the federal, state and
municipal powers. Therefore, the conventions and rules in that regard must
regulate and stand for sustainable management.
2. The Scope of
InstitutionalResponses:
the Desired Scenario
The starting point for the desired
scenario is the institutional changes
that can provide for alterations in the
previously identified tendencies. In
this regard, such scenario seeks to
incorporate the economic, social,
environmental and spatial dimensions
of sustainable development.
2.1 Possibilities for
Sustainable Management
The federal constitution of 1988
incorporated a specific chapter about
the environment. The physical-biotic
formations like the Amazon Forest,
Atlantic Forest, Pantanal and Coastal
Zone have constitutionally been
granted the status of national heritage.
As such, they must therefore be used
according to the law providing that the
conditions for preservation of the
environment are fully met (Article 23,
section VII and Article 225, first
paragraph, section VII and second
paragraph of the federal constitution).
The alteration of the current tendencies requires deeper changes than the ones
identified above. Structural reforms are all crucial to the attainment of that scenario.
They change the highly concentrated income patterns, improve access to
infrastructure of public goods and services, broaden the channels for participation
of the civil society organisations, ensure that these organisations are legitimately
represented and improve the rights for participation in management processes
at local and regional levels.
2.2 Institutional Feed Backs
From an institutional perspective, the foundation of the Interministerial
Committee for Sustainable Development (CIDES – Comitê Interministerial de
Desenvolvimento Sustentável) was an important step towards improved coordination
of policies, plans and sectorial and territorial programmes as well as
tax and credit incentive programmes. The potential of the Committee lies in its
capacity to co-ordinate information from different sectors, so as to harmonise
guidelines, goals, objectives and actions in an integrated and structured manner.
Additionally, insofar as its crosscutting institutional character is concerned, it
reinforces actions aimed at responding to emergency situations: disasters,
external events, etc.
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