“…our agribusiness can contribute to sustainable production…”
Rita Mesquita is the national secretary for biodiversity, forests and animal rights at Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA). She holds a degree in biological sciences from Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), a master’s degree from the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA) and a PhD from University of Georgia.
Mesquita is a researcher in Amazon forest ecology, focused on the ecology and succession of secondary vegetation. She previously coordinated the Professional Master’s Program in Management of Protected Areas in the Amazon (MPGAP) and served as extension coordinator at INPA.
AgriBrasilis – What are the main points of tension between agribusiness and environmental conservation?
Rita Mesquita – There is a false conflict around agribusiness and environmental conservation, which does not interest Brazil. It is necessary to recognize that agribusiness can contribute to sustainable production, but it must adopt practices that acknowledge nature as the source of its success. Conserving nature generates water, protects agricultural areas from climate change, enables more resilient landscapes and offers diversified products to the market.
Many of Brazil’s conservation areas are designated for sustainable use, where the management of natural resources drives important value chains. In these areas, the rights of traditional populations to territories that are essential for their social reproduction are recognized, while coexistence among different interests must also be ensured.
Practices that ignore the importance of nature reflect a predatory short-term vision that increases social inequalities in rural and urban areas. Such practices are unsustainable and intensify environmental degradation.
We need to be a country with room for everyone. Brazil is wealthy enough, but it still needs to work hard on distributing wealth. When we conserve, we are conserving for everyone. But when we produce, shouldn’t there also be room for everyone?
AgriBrasilis – What is the current outlook for biodiversity conservation in Brazil?
Rita Mesquita – Brazil has robust policies that contribute to biodiversity conservation, but it must also maintain constant attention to impacts that could cause species to become threatened or even extinct.
Unfortunately, our list of threatened species is extensive. Some measures have produced good results, improving the conservation status of certain species, but other species have entered the endangered list or seen their conditions worsen. In other words, we cannot afford to stop paying attention.
AgriBrasilis – Why is the conservation of the Amazon prioritized over other biomes?
Rita Mesquita – The Amazon Biome receives significant international attention because of its global role in major biogeochemical cycles and its vast scale. If deforestation increases in the Amazon, the impact on biodiversity loss and on climate change is enormous.
However, for Brazil, all biomes play an important role and deserve attention and care. That is why we have taken measures to increase the protection and sustainable use of all biomes. For example, we expanded protected areas in the Cerrado, Caatinga, Pantanal and coastal zones. Greater attention must also be given to the Pampa and the Atlantic Forest.
Our policies for restoring native vegetation and promoting the management and sustainable use of biodiversity are being implemented across all Brazilian biomes. This has the potential to restore environmental services lost due to past land occupation practices that failed to recognize the importance of these services. It can also help structure new bioeconomy value chains, opening markets and bringing greater security to diversified Brazilian businesses.
AgriBrasilis – What is the role of Conservation Units and what criteria are used to create this type of protected area?
Rita Mesquita – Conservation Units aim to protect places of exceptional biodiversity and natural value. Many are also important territories for traditional populations and must ensure that these ways of life continue to exist in harmony with nature.
Fragile areas with no evidence of traditional occupation and with exceptional conservation value may receive full protection status, allowing only indirect uses of resources, such as tourism, environmental education and scientific research.
Conservation Units continue to produce essential environmental services, such as water supply, soil protection and breeding grounds for species of economic interest, which can spread beyond the protected area into locations where their use is permitted.
Another category is Sustainable Use Conservation Units, where direct use of natural resources such as timber, fruits, oils and essences is allowed. In these locations, resident populations may continue living there while following management plan regulations to ensure that sustainable resource use remains the predominant practice.
If the environmental services generated by Conservation Units receive financial recognition, it will be possible to expand resources for maintaining these areas. When a protected area produces water, captures carbon, controls pests and diseases, or protects against erosion, it generates economic benefits that are often not accounted for by those who receive them.
It is important for environmental services provided by protected areas to be financially compensated. Resource generation can also be expanded through public visitation, nature tourism and the sustainable production of socio-bioeconomy products aimed at markets that recognize the value of product origin.
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