Misguided policy may jeopardize a diverse South brazilian environmental protection area

Abstract

The Devonian Escarpment (DEEPA), located in the south of Brazil, represents an important area of environmental preservation composed by grasslands, gallery forests, as well as rock outcrops and archaeological sites. A law project (LP 527/2016), which suggests a reduction of the DEEPA area in approximately 70% of its original area (from 393,579 to 125,895 ha), is currently being processed in the Paraná State House of Representatives. Such reduction seems to be related to economic interests (mainly agriculture and mining) in the state of Paraná. If approved, LP 527/2016 will allow farmers to deliberately expand their activities, with the suppression of natural forest as main consequence. Additionally, loss of faunal diversity, contamination of water and soils, and alteration in nutrient cycles are expected, due the intensive use of agrochemicals. In addition to the direct environmental consequences, we expect the disappearance of areas of high geological interest, reducing local geodiversity, as well as substantial economic losses with ecotourism. Brazil is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, where it undertakes to develop strategies to prevent biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation by 2020. An approval of the LP would be contradictory, considering that there are few natural vegetation areas in this region of the country. We emphasize that the proposal of such projects goes against the sustainability in the country and disregard the scientific knowledge generated until then. Thus, it is necessary to develop regional and federal political objectives that guarantee economic development in a balanced way, considering the local bio and geodiversity, not the proposal of mechanisms that destroy them.

A Fish-Based Index of Biotic Integrity for Neotropical Rainforest Sandy Soil Streams—Southern Brazil

“…Surface freshwaters are among the most disturbed ecosystems on the planet and in recent decades have suffered faster rates of decline in biodiversity than those observed in terrestrial ecosystems [1,2]. The conversion of natural landscapes for human use is among the main drivers of the impact on these systems [3][4][5][6]. In fact, agricultural practices are the most widespread cause of stream degradation, degrading riparian areas, decreasing bank stability, modifying natural hydrological patterns, increasing chemical and sediments inputs (including pesticides, heavy metals, and herbicides), and altering natural habitats and biological communities [1,3,[7][8][9][10][11][12].…”

A new inventory for fishes of headwater streams from the rio das Cinzas and rio Itararé basins, rio Paranapanema system, Paraná, Brazil

“…streams (Winemiller et al 2008;Ruaro et al 2018). The Devonian Escarpment EPA is directly linked to the maintenance of this integrity, especially in the case of the rio Itararé basin, and conservation efforts are increasingly necessary to at least maintain the original area of this natural reserve (Alves et al 2019).…”

“…Within the rio das Cinzas and rio Itararé basins some protected areas are guaranteed by the National System of Conservation Units of Nature in Brazil, despite of imminent political attacks that are underway (see Alves et al 2019). Between the municipalities of Cornélio Procópio and Santa Mariana is the Mata São Francisco State Park with 833 ha of Seasonal Forest, in addition to the Mina Velha State Park, in the municipality of Ibaiti, which has remnants of Araucaria forest (Paraná 2010).…”

“…The Southern portion of the basin, in the municipalities of Piraí do Sul and Jaguariaíva, composes the Environment Protection Area (EPA) of Devonian Escarpment, whose Northern portion includes the rio Itararé, between the municipalities of Jaguariaíva and Sengés. This EPA is a crucial area for biodiversity preservation because it comprises within its limits important State and National Parks, Private Reserve of Natural Heritage, and integrates important Brazilian river basins such as the rio Paranapanema system (Alves et al 2019).…”

Selecting areas with rare and restricted fish species in mountain streams of Southern Brazil

“…In the Paraná Basin, the Serra Geral (also known as Serra da Esperança or Serra da Boa Esperança in Paraná State) is a mountain range that originated during the Cretaceous period, and is included in the Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot (Myers et al, 2000). The Serra Geral and the Ponta Grossa Arch have been linked to the diversification and mixing of fish communities of adjacent river basins, suggesting vicariant processes and/or faunal interchange (Ribeiro, 2006; Frota et al, 2016a; Frota et al, 2016b; Morais‐Silva et al, 2018; Frota et al, 2019; Frota et al, 2020) in this critical area for fish conservation (Affonso et al, 2015; Frota et al, 2016a; Frota et al, 2016b; Cavalli et al, 2018; Alves et al, 2019; Frota et al, 2019; Frota et al, 2020). The mountain streams sampled are located at the boundaries of the Serra da Esperança and the Ponta Grossa Arch, mainly in the headwaters of the Das Cinzas, Itararé, Ivaí, Piquiri, and Tibagi river basins (in the Upper Paraná River system; Upper Parana ecoregion, Abell et al, 2008), the Iguaçu River basin (Iguassu ecoregion, Abell et al, 2008), and the Ribeira de Iguape River basin (Ribeira de Iguape ecoregion, Abell et al, 2008) (Figure 1).…”