After the presidential sanction to PL 5028/2019, on January 13, Brazil, home to one of the largest biodiversities in the world, finally has a National Policy of Payments for Environmental Services (PNPSA). Law 14,119 is a fundamental landmark in the valuation of efforts that should boost the sustainability agenda in the country. The Brazil Coalition on Climate, Forests and Agriculture and all the engaged movement of civil society, however, are concerned about presidential vetoes, because they directly compromise subjects related to the governance and transparency of the Federal Program of Payments for Environmental Services (PES), established by law. See the material by the Coalition and this interview with Erika Pinto , a researcher from the Institute for Environmental Research of the Amazon (IPAM) and leader of the Task Force for Payment for Environmental Services (FT PSA) at the Brazil Coalition.
“Several PES programs carried out in Brazil and worldwide show that this is a powerful instrument to promote the conservation and restoration of forests. The approval of a Law that establishes a national PES policy is an important signal and reinforces that this is one of the themes of convergence between the actors from agriculture and the environment. The Coalition positioned itself as a fundamental area in order to qualify the discussions and to stimulate the advance of the agenda in Congress. However, the Law lost several of its instruments of participation, transparency and financing at the stage of the presidential sanction, which will make it difficult to monitor society and the implementation of the expected instruments,” declared Gabriel Lui, coordinator of the iCS Land Use portfolio.
It is important to mention that the PNPSA prospered as a result of the intense dialogue with several voices from society, including iCS and its grantees, such as the Coalition.
