Petrobras intends to cut through 500 kilometres of forest close to indigenous areas to transport 2.3 million cubic metres of natural gas per day. The Federal Public Ministyr is opposed to the project and says that the company's Environmental Impact Study was incomplete.

Petrobras has a huge battle against environmentalist on its hands in the next few weeks. The company wants to construct a gas pipeline in one of the most preserved areas of Amazonia. It wants to transport 2.3 million cubic metres of natural gas 500 kilometres from Coari in Amazonas to Porto Velho, the capital of Rondonia every day. It has already been granted a licence for the project by IBAMA, despite the opposition of the Federal Public Ministry. The project is part of the Federal Government's Avança Brasil programme. The pipeline would be constructed close to ten indigenous areas which are home to 4,000 Indians.

"Petrobras's Environmental Impact Study was badly executed. It borders on the ridiculous when it states that the company will distribute condoms to Indians in case of contact with construction workers. I do not understand why IBAMA conceded this licence", said the Senior Prosecutor of the Federal Public Ministry in Amazonas, Sérgio Lauria. He is to take action to annul the licence is the company does not submit a revised study of the environmental impact of the project.

The gas pipeline links the Urucu Petroleum Field in Coari to Manaus, 650 kilometres from Coari, where Petrobras has a petroleum refinery which will produce natural gas. US$175 million will be invested in the Urucu-Porto Velho gas pipeline, which is predicted to be operational in July 2004 and will supply thermoelectric plants in Porto Velho.

Indigenous Areas

The trajectory of the pipeline passes close to the Deni, Paumari do Lago Manissuã, Paumari do Lago Paricá, Paumari do Cuniuá, Juma, Jacareúba/Katauixi, Hi Merimã, Banawá-Yafi, Jamamadi/Jarawara/Kanamati and Caititu indigenous lands. According to the Environmental Impact Study, there are isolated Indians in the Jacareúba/Katauixi region. Some of the territories are just ten kilometres from the proposed route of the pipeline.

In August, non-governmental organisations launched a campaign against the pipeline at the Rio+10 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, the world meeting to discuss environmentally-correct development. The environmentalists want the license to be revoked as the project could attract loggers and farmers to the area deforested for the construction work.

"It is a great deal for those wanting to occupy land illegally", said the director of the NGO, Friends of the Earth - Brazilian Amazonia, Roberto Smeraldi, referring to the market in false land registration documents. He commented that the practice in common in Amazonia. This type of undertaking always attracts people alleging to own the land. This results in property speculation and unchecked deforestation. The forests of the region are untouched and are home to unknown animal and vegetable species.

The Public Ministry recommended that Petrobras carry out a survey of alternative means of transporting the natural gas, such as the use of barges, and conduct research on the flora, fauna and population of the region, including uncontacted Indian groups which may live and hunt in the project area. It also recommended that IBAMA does not license the project until the EIS is revised. The company has until October to make the corrections.

The recommendations were sent to IBAMA and Petrobras on 13 August and were also signed by the Chief Prosecutor of Rondonia, Carlos Roberto Diogo. The demands are based on studies carried out by specialists from the 4th Environment Court in Brasilia. Petrobras refused to comment.

Risk of climate change

If the forest along the route of the gas pipeline were devastated, there could be changes in the rainfall pattern in São Paulo, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Paraná, damaging agriculture and compromising water levels in hydroelectric reservoirs.

"In these states, 70% of rainfall in the months of December and January is water from the Amazon region", affirmed the ecologist Phillip Fearnside, a climate specialist in the Institute for Amazonian Research.

Fearnside predicts the the pipeline will provoke a wave of migration to the region, resulting in large-scale deforestation. "This happened in Rondonia. The construction of the BR-429, between Pimenta Bueno and Costa Marques in the Guaporé Valley, was a violation of a contract with the World Bank, which financed the paving of the BR-364 Cuiaba-Porto Velho highway. The BR-429 was constructed in the BR-364's area of influence. People entered the region, deforested it, and the goverment later legalised the invasion. Today, there are cities in a region which should not have been occupied", he said.

Even in the face of such arguments, IBAMA granted the licence. "Petrobras is going to take care of whatever is necessary. There will be no road. There will be no risk. We cannot impede this country's development. And the pipeline does not pass through indigenous areas", said Paulo Arruda, who was responsible for analysing the project. According to him, there will be further meetings to discuss the possible impacts. "A preliminary licence has been granted. Petrobras will meet the Public Ministry's conditions", he affirmed. The preliminary licence, however, constitutes the approval of the project and the guarantee that it is "environmentally viable".

The demands

Some items missing from the Environmental Impact Study:
- include in the report information from FUNAI about the situation of Indians living in the region, including isolated groups, defining the legal situation of indigenous lands;
- obey the Resolution of the National Environment Council in relation to a survey of flora and fauna to evaluate possible impacts;
- evaluate the possible impact on animal populations at risk of extinction;
- evaluate the possible illegal trade in flora and fauna resulting from the project;
- carry out a socio-economic assessment of the region affected by the project.

What is environmental licencing?

Environment licensing safeguards Brazil's development whilst preserving the quality of life. Any construction project in natural areas, like rivers and forests, depends on a licence. In applying for a licence, the construction company must present an Environment Impact Study and a report which summarise the study. These documents describe the damage which might be caused by the construction project and discuss solutions to reduce the impact of the project. The acceptable limits to environmental damage are defined by law.