PA Santarém Brazil
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) filed a Public Civil Action against the State of Pará and the Municipality of Santarém to demand that environmental permits for port and waterway projects in Santarém include mandatory environmental, climate, Indigenous, and Quilombola impact studies, as well as free, prior, and informed consultation (FPIC) with potentially affected traditional peoples and communities. According to the lawsuit, the region has been progressively integrated into the Tapajós-Xingu Logistics Corridor, which has intensified the development of port infrastructure with serious socio-environmental risks, such as deforestation, pressure on traditional territories, water pollution, biodiversity loss, and cumulative climate impacts resulting from the simultaneous operation of multiple ports.
The MPF maintains that both the State and the Municipality have repeatedly omitted the requirement for in-depth impact studies and prior consultations, despite irregularities in previous licensing —as in the cases of Cargill, Embraps and ATEM's— and the ecological and sociocultural relevance of Lake Maicá, a vital fishing area and territory of indigenous, quilombola, riverine and artisanal fishermen communities.
In an interlocutory decision, the Judiciary granted emergency protection and determined that the State of Pará and the Municipality of Santarém must adapt their licensing procedures to ensure: (i) the mandatory performance of EIA/RIMA; (ii) the inclusion of studies of indigenous components (ECI) and quilombola communities (ECG); (iii) the requirement of a climate impact study in both new procedures and renewals of operating licenses; and (iv) the performance of CLPI in accordance with international standards, prior to, in good faith and directed by the licensing body itself.
The State of Pará argued that the environmental permit met regulatory requirements and that the incorporation of new studies could not be retroactively demanded for projects that already had a prior permit. It further maintained that, although state legislation specified climatic variables, there was no mandatory regulation for an independent climate study. For its part, the Municipality of Santarém asserted that requiring an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and a Comprehensive Climate Impact Assessment (CLPI) for any project, without considering its potential impact, was disproportionate and could jeopardize projects essential to the local population. Both entities argued that the action was inadmissible.
The court also authorized the entry of FUNAI and the Palmares Cultural Foundation as amici curiae and of INCRA as an assistant to the MPF, given the ethnic and territorial relevance of the dispute.
In the public civil action, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office argued that the accelerated expansion of ports and waterways in Santarém, within the Tapajós-Xingu Logistics Corridor, was generating significant climate impacts, which were not adequately considered in the environmental licensing procedures of the State of Pará and the Municipality of Santarém. The MPF argued that the simultaneous operation of multiple port terminals produced cumulative and synergistic effects that increased pressure on the regional and global climate, especially due to the increase in river and industrial traffic, energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and the degradation of ecosystems essential for climate regulation.
The Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) emphasized that, in the face of the climate crisis, it was essential for environmental permits to incorporate independent climate impact studies capable of identifying how projects contributed to the worsening of emissions, the weakening of natural carbon sinks (such as floodplains and mangroves), and the vulnerability of traditional communities to extreme events. The omission of this dimension, the MPF argued, violated the National Climate Change Policy, international commitments such as the Paris Agreement, and the constitutional principle of prevention.
The court accepted these arguments, stating that climate protection was an inseparable part of the fundamental right to a balanced environment. It noted that the lack of climate analysis compromised the technical quality of the licensing process and constituted potentially “deficient” state action, prohibited by the Supreme Federal Court in ADPF 760. The court emphasized that, in the Amazon, where rivers and forests fulfill global climate functions, the state's omission was even more serious.
The court stated that the region faced extreme events, such as severe droughts and water crises, which disproportionately affected riverine and subsistence populations. Therefore, it determined that the climate impact study should evaluate not only emissions, but also adaptation, mitigation, and carbon sink strengthening measures, in accordance with Articles 2, I, VII, and IX of the National Climate Change Policy.
The court also concluded that climate impact assessments should be conducted for both new projects and the renewal of operating licenses for existing ports, to prevent operational ventures from continuing to generate unassessed risks. It further recognized that climate considerations were a mandatory technical element within the standard of "best available science."
- Federal Public Prosecutor's Office – MPF
- National Institute for Agrarian Reform - INCRA
- State of Pará
- Municipality of Santarem
The protected area is located in the municipality of Santarém, in the lower Amazon region, a strategic area due to its location at the confluence of the Tapajós and Amazon rivers. This zone has been progressively incorporated into the Tapajós-Xingu Logistics Corridor, designed for the flow of agricultural commodities and characterized by the construction of bulk cargo ports, waterways, highways, and other infrastructure projects. Within this context, Lake Maicá stands out as one of Santarém's main bodies of water and an essential ecosystem for fish reproduction, artisanal fishing, and the subsistence of traditional communities.
The communities that inhabit and depend on this territory include Indigenous peoples (especially the Munduruku people), Quilombola communities—nine territories directly affected according to court documents—as well as artisanal fishers, river dwellers, and extractive industries. These populations maintain ways of life deeply linked to hydrological cycles, fishing, the collective use of the territory, and the ecological integrity of the lake and its surroundings.
Studies presented in the dossier demonstrate that Lake Maicá is one of the region's main fishing grounds, with high biodiversity and a strong cultural connection to the fishermen and riverside communities. However, the designation of the lake as a "port zone" in the 2018 Master Plan has generated concern about the threat to traditional territories, the loss of fishing resources, pollution, and environmental degradation.
The action seeks to protect this socio-territorial mosaic, preventing irreversible damage to historically vulnerable communities and ecosystems essential for their physical and cultural survival.
International agreements/treaties
- Paris Agreement
- ILO Convention 169
National laws
- Federal Constitution of 1988
- Law 6.938/1981 — National Environmental Policy (PNMA)
- Law 12.187/2009 — National Climate Change Policy (PNMC)
- CONAMA Resolutions 01/1986 and 237/1997
- Interministerial Portal 60/2015
- State Law Pará 9.048/2020
- Santarém Master Plan
Beginning
- Principle of prevention
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