Alternative dispute resolution agreements in the countryside of Goiás and the misperception of environmental damage recovering

Abstract:

This research analyses the results on damage recomposing in Permanent Preservation Areas located in cities that integrate the Meia Ponte River basin, in Goiás, by verifying the Alternative Dispute Resolution Agreements (ADRs) in which public prosecutors take part in orderto evaluate if their work produces sensible results when the ecological role of these areas is considered. The research maps the judiciary districts and links them to environmental crimes committed between 2017 and 2019. By following the established criteria, it analyzes seven ADRs that were found during the research. The goal, during this step, is to examine if the agreements comply with the minimum technical quality required by Brazilian Law. Also, it identifies five rural properties belongingto the ADRs participants in orderto verify them by satellite images. These images permit temporal comparison of the areas and make it possible to see if there are Permanent Preservation Areas and Legal Reserved Areas that still have to be recomposed and the proposition on doing so according to the Rural-Environmental Registration. By qualitative analyses, the research concludes that the criteria established by Brazilian Law are not sufficiently complied by the ADRs in which state public prosecutors take part. The results indicate a low utility level of ADRs in Brazil when ecological roles are considered. Important data on the parts, on the areas, and on the obligations are not mentioned or were forgotten. The restoration of the damaged areas was not verified in any of the rural properties analyzed. Public prosecutors value documents over the reality of the areas and the possibility of complying with the ecological role.

Keywords:
rural development; human rights; agribusiness; public interest; diffuse rights