The impact of downsizing protected areas: How a misguided policy may enhance landscape fragmentation and biodiversity loss. (January 2022) - Conceição, Eliezer O.
Abstract: Brazilian biodiversity is undergoing numerous attacks and misguided policies that aim to reduce protected areas (PAs) with the main argument of expanding agribusiness to improve the country's economic performance. An example is the draft law (DL) 527/2016, which aimed to reduce approximately 70% of the Devonian Escarpment Environmental Protection Area (DEEPA), a large PA in southern Brazil, hosts two biodiversity hotspot biomes. This study shows the possible downsizing damages to biodiversity and landscape by quantifying the size and connectivity of the vegetation remnants in the surrounding landscape concerning the degree of threat to the species that occur in both the Atlantic Forest and Brazilian Savanna domains. The DEEPA downsizing can affect natural savanna and Atlantic Forest vegetation area proposed by DL 527/2016 would fail in protecting 383 (56.82%) of the threatened species. Only three species evaluated as critically endangered, 13 classified as endangered, and 13 classified as vulnerable would be preserved; the reduction would also negatively affect essential ecosystem services and the quality of life in human populations. Furthermore, man-made fragmentation and habitat loss would jeopardize several biological and ecological aspects fundamental to biomes' maintenance and ecosystem services. In addition to reducing this environmental protection area, it would cut taxes from the current PA and could affect its surrounding municipalities in southern Brazil. Highlights: The reduction of 70% of protection areas increases isolation among vegetation fragments. The area proposed by Draft Law 527/2016 would fail in protecting 56.82% of the threatened species. Downsizing the DEEPA represents an antagonistic measure to conserve Atlantic Forest and Brazilian Savanna and their ecosystem services. Reduced protection areas would entail loss of economic funds granted from the government to municipalities. One difficulty for conservation is the lack of technical capacity to prevent biodiversity loss. Draft Law 527/2016 makes it difficult to protect the aesthetic, cultural and geological history property.