Ecological Cordon: 50% of the protection forest is perforated with buildings and clearings

The Ecological Cordon has been punctured by developers and bullies. Of the 98 hectares of the protected forest in the Santa Cruz municipality, 50 percent has been affected by construction and clearing, as reflected by satellite monitoring that shows the severity of deforestation in this protected area.

The map presented by the Government shows clearing stains and buildings at different points of the flood plain of the Ecological Cordon, which, according to current regulations, is untouchable, each time has the function of preventing the Piraí River from entering the city as happened in 1983.

The rule classifies it as undevelopable, but in an inspection carried out this Tuesday by the Mayor’s Office, the Government and the ABT, it was found that this is not met and the area is increasingly at risk of disappearing. Just 300 meters from the fifth ring, new settlements are evident. They have cut down trees to open roads and have built houses of corrugated board and wood, and others of material. Additionally, there are cabins with fraternity signs and recreational spaces, such as soccer fields.

“They are affecting our protection forest. The floodplain is completely perforated. For us, these constructions are illegal because we do not know their ownership rights and they are in a non-developable area,” said the director of the Water Channeling and Regulation Service of the Piraí River (Searpi), Gabriela Taceo, when touring the affected sector.

You get there by entering through the left side of the Isuto canal, where the state of inattention of the authorities is evident, since at the main entrance there are debris and garbage on both sides of the road.

In the urbanized sector there are fenced lots with material and mesh fences, and the homes even have electricity connections and water tanks. In this space there are about ten already consolidated constructions.

Another sector of concern is the drainage channel, where they illegally built a wall on the edges of the drain and a few meters away they built two lagoons that serve as fish nurseries.

The environmental engineer, Sandra Quiroga, regrets that The administrative pause that governs the Ecological Cordon has not stopped constructions in this area desired by developers. The specialist notes that studies show that deforestation in the cordon grew like never before in 2019, when the impact reached 32% and continued to grow.

“They are constructions that have been consolidated in 2019 and after that year. Even the new owners of land in the Ecological Cordon“In some sectors that were from the municipality of Santa Cruz, they have license plates from 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, something totally illegal, which deserves to be investigated and an audit,” he points out.

He insists that the regulations only allow research, tourism and recreation activities, and prohibit overnight stays in this area, that is, buildings on public or private land are not permitted, because, “as there are settlements”, There are septic tanks that generate pollution.

The specialist believes that there is “complicit neglect” due to the economic interest that being urbanized arouses. “Unfortunately, the Ecological Cordon does not have enough park rangers nor are there daily inspections.”said the environmentalist.

For his part, councilor Federico Morón points out that it is striking that 50 percent of the plain is already affected. “That is the alarming data that they are giving us now. What is clear is that after the environmental pause the construction continues and that is worrying,” said the opponent.

He assures that, due to lack of control, the population is being put at risk due to the violation of containment dams, the construction of lagoons for fish farms and the walls to divert the course of the Isuto canal.
“We are talking about very strong environmental crimes. The Ecological Cordon is multi-skilled and this is done under the supervision and patience of the authorities.”Morón claimed.

It highlights the coordinated inspection between authorities that have custody of the cordon and considers that this must be done on a regular basis.
Inspection

Given the complaint from councilors about encroachments in the Ecological Cord, authorities and technicians from the Mayor’s Office, the Government and the ABT carried out an inspection at the site.

Ricardo Valverde, director of Territorial Planning and Limits of the Government, noted that there is a municipal law, a departmental law and two national laws that agree that this area is for protection, Therefore, the construction of buildings and homes is not permitted.

“The correct thing is to prepare a report on each entity that we are present, each one according to their competencies, to see how to stop these illegal settlements and constructions”he indicated.

He explained that this area is BP1 (Protection Forest) and only forest plantations and civil works to protect the city from flooding of the Piraí River can be carried out.

Blanca Alicia Rojas, municipal director of Urban Regulation, explained that The questioned area is an area of ​​private property that has been overwhelmed. However, opposition councilors point out that there are also private companies that are developing.

Rojas indicated that the Ecological Cordon is a protected area and the land use does not change. “We have Law 1434 and an administrative pause in this place that does not allow construction“, he pointed.

Law 1434 establishes the prohibitions and what is allowed. “In no case is it housing, opening paths or roads. And also with this we call for conscience, for the good will to pay attention to the laws and for all people to be informed that they cannot be within the Ecological Cordon,” he stressed.

The authority indicated that there are nine processes that have been opened in this sector. “We also have to clarify that not only the Municipal Government has to intervene, They are the three levels of the State. We must rule out the possibility of felling trees, pollution, impact on nature, in that sense each unit must make a statement,” he said at the time of beginning the tour of the affected area.

Management plan

Mayor Jhonny Fernández reported that Bs 750 million was budgeted to make a new management plan for the cordon.

He pointed out that 93 percent of the properties in this area are not municipal property, because 47 percent is private and 46 percent is rural. He indicated that he cannot remove private law in this area, but said that there is an administrative pause that prevents improvements and construction until the study is completed.

Fernández points out that the Municipal Government does not have any project to affect the Ecological Cordon, as the opponents denounce.

Sandy Rojas Banegas, head of the municipal department of Protected Areas, reiterated that This is a protected area and the construction of houses, fences or any other infrastructure is not permitted. that could interfere with the functionality of the floodplain.

He pointed out that the new management plan will determine the activities, maintaining the protection of the area. Those with the greatest amount of forest will be established as a priority site for conservation and where it is degraded it will be reforested. They will also establish what type of activities can be carried out, such as research, leisure or recreation.

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