During the webinar to present the final report of the Rio Doce Panel, national and international experts considered that repairing the damage caused by the dam rupture that occurred in Mariana (MG) more than seven years ago still requires long-term monitoring and actions. In the event that took place this Thursday (27th) and broadcast over the internet, the Renova Foundation, an entity created to administer the measures stipulated in an agreement signed between the mining companies and the governments involved, recognized that it faced problems arising from the design of the reparation process. “It is important that actions are implemented that accelerate the return of this biodiversity, but it is fundamental to understand that this is not a short or medium term process. This is a long term process that needs coordinated actions”, said the professor of ecology at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) Francisco Barbosa, one of the panel members. He highlighted the work on the Gualaxo do Norte River, a tributary of the Doce River heavily affected by tailings, where the Renova Foundation is developing a project to renaturalize the bed, using innovative techniques that help to shorten the time for environmental recovery. Barbosa also pointed out that there are new damages yet to be identified and mentions the tailings that remain accumulated in the Candonga Power Plant reservoir, which at the time acted as a barrier to a good part of the mud released into the environment. The specialist explained that, from time to time, especially in the rainy season, part of this material flows along the Rio Doce. “The repair process must be long-term to identify problems and answers”, he reiterated. The dam, which was part of Samarco’s mining complex in Mariana, broke in November 2015, leaving 19 dead and impacting dozens of cities in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo located along the Rio Doce basin. The agreement to repair damages was signed in March 2016, through a Term of Transaction and Adjustment of Conduct (TTAC). The federal government, the governments of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, Samarco and its shareholders Vale and BHP Billiton participated in the negotiations. Based on the agreement, the Renova Foundation was created, responsible for managing all the planned reparation measures. They involve, for example, the reconstruction of destroyed communities, the resettlement of displaced families, the payment of compensation to those affected and environmental recovery. The Rio Doce Panel, in turn, was structured in 2017 and is administered by the non-governmental organization International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Renova Foundation approved its hiring at a cost of US$ 959,400 per year, which at the time quoted a value in excess of R$ 15 million for the five-year duration of the work. According to the IUCN, the Rio Doce Panel meets the interest of mining companies and the Renova Foundation in having an independent international consultancy capable of identifying the best global corporate practices and perspectives based on science in terms of repair. Over the five years, the work mobilized a total of 11 specialists, including former Ministers of Environment from Peru and Ecuador. According to IUCN, members were appointed through open and competitive processes. The final report presented this Thursday takes stock of the work. Another ten documents had already been produced by the panel, in which directions for the reparation process were proposed. Among them, five thematic reports that deal with topics such as water quality, environmental monitoring, sustainable practices, biodiversity restoration and impact mitigation. Specialists recognize that they were unable to address some relevant issues, such as the management of tailings deposited at the Candonga Plant. The dredging and removal of this material has not been completed until today and has become the center of a judicial controversy. In addition, the recommendations produced were more focused on environmental aspects, dealing with social and economic aspects in a secondary way: there was no deepening, for example, in themes such as resettlement and compensation. According to the Renova Foundation, 35 recommendations were received. Representatives of the entity present at the webinar highlighted that one of the main contributions of the Rio Doce Panel was related to the creation of a methodology for identifying impacts on the coastal environments of Espírito Santo. Renegotiation More than seven years later, the reconstruction of destroyed communities has not yet been completed, and controversies mark the indemnity process. The work of the Renova Foundation has been the subject of many legal challenges and negotiations are underway for a new agreement to renegotiate the reparation process. Discussions began last year with mediation by the National Council of Justice (CNJ), which took on the task of seeking a consensual solution capable of finding a way to circumvent the procedural avalanche surrounding the tragedy: it is estimated that there will be more than 85,000 lawsuits in progress. The negotiations, however, have not yet resulted in an agreement. The role of the Renova Foundation in the reparation process is a point of disagreement. The Public Ministry of Minas Gerais (MPMG) and the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) have already openly defended another model of governance without the participation of the entity. They argue that the new terms to be agreed should be based on the repair agreement for the tragedy that occurred in Brumadinho (MG) in 2019, involving the rupture of a Vale dam. The MPMG has even gone so far as to legally request the extinction of the Renova Foundation, claiming that it does not enjoy the due autonomy vis-à-vis mining companies. The entity’s performance is also criticized by committees of those affected. However, they were not called to the renegotiation negotiation tables and complain about the secrecy of the negotiations. Participation For the president of the Renova Foundation, Andre de Freitas, problems occurred involving TTAC guidelines that were not sufficiently clear, generating different interpretations and, consequently, judicialization. “There is a challenge from the source, from the lack of clarity and definition of what should be done”, he assessed. He recognizes that the participation of civil society and the affected population in the reparation process fell short of what it should have been. During the webinar, Freitas also assessed that some technical discussions are endless and inconclusive. “We spend hundreds of millions of reais on expertise and studies that do not lead to a clarity of what should be done. These resources could be better used for actions of economic development, sanitation, etc.” He pointed out that the Renova Foundation does not participate in discussions on renegotiation, but said he hoped that a new agreement would face these problems and establish a more negotiating logic. José Carlos Carvalho, who was Minister of the Environment during the government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso and who mediated the webinar, defended greater social participation in the reparation process. In his view, the Rio Doce River Basin Committee (CBH-Rio Doce) must be strengthened. Provided for by law, river basin committees have representatives from different segments of society. They participate in decisions involving water resources, sharing management responsibilities with the government. “It is not understandable that, at the current moment of renegotiation, the representation of those affected and the committee are not participating in the proper way. process,” he said.
Agência Brasil
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