Sistemas agroflorestais como estratégia para restauração ecológica na Bacia do Rio Doce

Abstract

In a context of intense environmental degradation such as the Rio Doce Basin, it is necessary to think of strategies for ecological restoration that contemplate the environmental, economic and social sphere. The conservation and protection of permanent preservation areas (PPAs) and legal reserves (RLs) is a fundamental action to achieve this restoration, and even perform ecological functions necessary for the proper functioning of ecosystems. To this end, it is crucial to promote the restoration of 21 million hectares of APP and RL liabilities, distributed throughout the national territory and necessary for regularization under the Forest Code. Agroforestry systems (SAFs) have the potential to enable environmental regularization by reconciling ecological restoration with job and income generation. However, there are still many doubts about the types of SAFs that will be accepted in the context of environmental regulation, as well as the economic viability of these alternatives. Thus, the present study proposes an analysis of the state legislations of the Environmental Regularization Programs (PRA) and specific regulations for implementation of SAFs, with special attention to the design of these policies in Minas Gerais. From the outline of the possibilities of SAFs allowed by environmental legislation, two scenarios were defined: conservationist (with ecological specificities, such as the presence of zoological species, permanence of all ecological groups, prohibition of replanting exotic species, etc.) and flexible less specific and restrictive, with the use of invasive alien species, sustainable management of individuals from endangered species, flexibility in the composition of SAFs in APPs up to 3 years after their implementation, etc.). These regulatory scenarios, in turn, were used to define agroforestry packages based on key crops and economic activities in the Rio Doce Basin. In order to understand the socioeconomic impact of these regulatory scenarios, a rural property was chosen in the basin to simulate the economic return of the conservation and flexible scenarios. It is concluded that the agroforestry packages developed with the premises of the flexible scenario, presented a better financial evaluation than those of the conservationist scenario. The native SAF, banana and coffee, proposed for APP, was constituted in a biodiverse way, giving preference to species that can provide a short-term economic return, such as the pioneer and secondary natives, and with maximum utilization of the species, for this reason the herbaceous element (banana) for its composition in the first 5 years and the fruitful exploitation of 100% of the individuals of the juçara. On the other hand, the native SAF, eucalyptus, maize and beans developed for RLs brings the Eucalyptus Urograndis, widely used in the pulp and paper production basin, to be responsible for its financial profitability, but its use has been restricted in some specific regulations, Also, the corn and beans consortium, which highlights the need to meet the milk demand of the basin. This package presented the lowest pay back of all, only 6 years. Such analyzes indicate a tendency to define legislation that has less specification and is more focused on the final ecological result than on the initial design. However, some issues need to be debated, especially regarding the evaluation and monitoring, being suggested through ecological indicators, measured at the end of the process, and in a self-declaratory manner, such actions could eventually extend the term of adequacy. Another point would be the economic delta between conservationist and flexible SAFs, which could be offset by other policies such as Payment for Environmental Services (PSAs).