Right to a balanced environment and environmental impacts os the Cerrado

Abstract

Introduction: The Cerrado occupies approximately 25% of the national territory and is the second largest biome in South America and Brazil, considered the savanna with the greatest biological diversity on the planet. The climate is seasonal tropical and has two defined seasons: a dry season and a rainy season. Although the Cerrado has vegetation with roots up to 15 meters deep, it also has herbaceous formations (vegetation with shallower roots). As a result, the branches of these formations dry out during the dry season, causing recurrent fires in this biome, together with human actions that strongly influence this issue. The Cerrado has suffered the devastation of 88 million hectares in the last 39 years. Due to these events, environmental disasters have increased at an alarming rate, as have degrading climate conditions. These events have not been favorable for human rights. Objective: This study aims to understand how environmental disasters and climate conditions in the Cerrado affect human rights as provided for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), as well as the 1988 Federal Constitution (CF). Methodology: Documentary research was used, with an emphasis on quantitative research, to ensure clarity on the impacts caused by environmental disasters in the Cerrado. Data released by the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) was analyzed, with a comparison of the Cerrado areas between 1985 and 2023, and also research carried out by MapBiomas, with the current comparison between January and August 2024. Main results: Analyzing data released by the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), in the comparative study from 1985 to 2023, there was a significant increase in the rate of deforestation and burning in the last 39 years. According to the analysis, in these years, 38 million hectares of vegetation were cut down, and it was also analyzed that about half of the biome was altered by human activity. In the most recent study by MapBiomas, it was analyzed that between January and August 2024, 4 million hectares of Cerrado were lost to fires. Studies show that these events have aggravated the increase in droughts and extreme temperatures. Conclusion: Analyzing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Federal Constitution of 1988, it is clear how the human rights provided for in some articles of these documents are being threatened by the increase in fires, in terms of deforestation. Articles 3 and 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights state, respectively, that “Everyone has the right to life, […].”; “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, […].” Article 225 of the Federal Constitution states that “Everyone has the right to an ecologically balanced environment, a common good for the people and essential to a healthy quality of life, and it is the duty of the Government and the community to defend and preserve it for present and future generations.” With the deterioration of the environmental conditions in the Cerrado, the right to life, health, water and food is notably compromised, as these events increase respiratory problems due to smoke and reduce the availability of water for Brazil’s water supply. Furthermore, the use of pesticides and intensive agricultural practices degrade the soil and contaminate food, putting at risk the subsistence of traditional communities that depend specifically on natural resources.