This Tuesday (7), the Government of São Paulo published Decree No. 66.820/22 that expands the Carlos Botelho State Park, located in the municipality of Sete Barras. The expansion of the environmental conservation area, which will allow the generation of credits to offset the legal reserve, took place through a donation from Fazenda Ribeirão da Serra.
The state park now has an increased area of ??1,200 hectares, totaling 38,800 hectares. The donation based on the Brazilian Forest Code had been conceived in an unprecedented format by the Attorney General’s Office of the State of São Paulo.
“This is an innovative mechanism that gives us the ability to create or increase Conservation Units with the land situation resolved, enhancing management actions, and at no cost to the State. It is an important precedent for the conservation of biodiversity,” comments Chucre.
The Government of São Paulo has four million hectares of protected areas and 119 Conservation Units that conserve the fauna and flora of the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado. It also has an active environmental policy through actions and programs for the preservation of the environment aimed at reforestation and restoration of the Mata Nativa.
Actions and programs
From 2015 to March of this year, the Nascente Program planted 42.8 million seedlings of native plants and recovered an area of ??25,700 hectares, equivalent to 36,000 football fields. The State also has more than 100 Private Natural Heritage Reserves. The last balance of the forest inventory in 2019, points to the recovery of 4.9% of Mata Nativa, in the decade 2010/2020.
In 2021, São Paulo joined the UN “Race to Zero” and “Race to Resilience” campaigns, to neutralize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In addition, announced the creation of the Refloresta-SP program during the Climate COP, for the recovery of 700 thousand hectares by 2050 through Payment for Environmental Services (PSA), added to the 800 thousand hectares that will be restored by the AgroLegal Program (Environmental Regularization Program by the Department of Agriculture and Supply). Together the programs will restore more than 1.5 million hectares in degraded areas, which corresponds to 10% of the goal for the country to neutralize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to a study by SOS Mata Atlântica.
Last year, was approved the Ecological ICMS Law, which doubled the percentage allocated to municipalities that are committed to environmental preservation and sustainable development, from 1% to 2%, which will generate R$ 5 billion over the next ten years.
Carlos Botelho State Park
The park has a variety of flora with 171 tree and shrub species from 45 different botanical families. There are still 57 herbaceous species belonging to 27 families at the site. In addition, there are 79 species of mammals registered at the site, of which 15% were found in the area of ??the farm that was incorporated into the park.
“We know that an empty forest is not capable of perpetuating itself over the decades and the presence of these animals indicates that the forest cycle is complete”, concludes Pietro Scarascia, manager of Carlos Botelho State Park.
To learn more about the Conservation Unit, visit: https://guiadeareasprotegidas.sp.gov.br/ap/parque-estadual-carlos-botelho/.
