Change in the protection regime of Permanent Preservation Areas in the 2012 Forest Code

Abstract

The parameter for delimiting Areas of Permanent Preservation (APPs) in the 2012 Forest Code is the edge of the regular stream bed, not its highest level. The objective of this study is to evaluate the loss of protected areas, framed the category of water APPs in the 2012 Forest Code, in the Cabaçal River. By means of spatial technologies, maps of vegetation cover and land use from 2012 and 2018 were prepared. The change in the Forest Code in 2012 caused the loss of 90% of the area previously protected by the 1965 Code, corresponding to the major waterbed of the Cabaçal River, especially in the lower course, located in the Pantanal plain of Mato Grosso. It was concluded that the vegetation cover in the Areas of Permanent Preservation was suppressed so that urban and agricultural uses could be implanted, characterizing them as conflict areas due to the flexibilization of the environmental legislation.