areas for sustainable use during the Lula and Rousseff presidential terms—2003 to
2016. Secondly, consideration by policy-makers of two large marine ecosystems
(LME) off the Brazilian coast, the East and South areas, where similar strategies to
manage natural resources were drafted. That occurred even though the largest part of
Brazilian oil reserves is located off the South coast, which suggests that oil and gas
activities were not a factor considered by Brazilian marine policy-makers when
defining marine conservation strategies.
Yet, the greatest motive for Brazil’s reaching the Aichi Target was the designation of two giant MPAs within the EEZ of the Brazilian Atlantic Archipelago of São
Pedro e São Paulo, as well as the Vitória and Trindade Islands.
100 Within the MPAs,
which are mostly of “sustainable use”, there are areas of a “natural monument”,
which are no-touch zones for commercial activities. The MPAs combined add
approx. 900,000 km
2 of open seas to Brazilian protected areas, a decision supported
by environmentalists and backed the Ministries of Defense and the Navy. This
author has co-published a peer-reviewed paper on the Brazilian jurisdictional assertions over the Archipelago, claiming that the declaration of the MPAs around the
islands crowns the uncontested Brazilian jurisdiction over the islands’ EEZ.
101
Surrounding the Vitória-Trindade submarine chain, a submarine mount previously unknown to the Brazilian population,
102 its corals have been described as “a
tropical forest at the bottom of the sea”.
103 Altogether, there were 30 submarine
mounts, between 30 and 150-meters deep. The list of living organisms inhabiting the
mounts reaches 270 species of reef fish—24 of them threatened by extinction, one of
the highest rates of diversity among all the islands of the Atlantic. All those
ecological riches have been threatened by fishing and mining.
104 Following public
consultations, the Federal Government declared an MPA in the region, of about
450,000 km
2 , approximately the area of Sweden. Both MPAs will be co-managed by
the Ministries of Environment and Defense, which is considered as an innovative
approach for protected areas.
Implementation issues still persist, though. Designating such massive MPAs does
not mean that immediate environmental, species and habitat conservation has been
100 Decree no. 9.312 creates the MPA of the Trindade and Martim Vaz Archipelago and the Trinity
and Martim Vaz Islands Natural Monument and Mount Columbia; while Decree no. 9.313/08
creates the MPA of the São Pedro and São Paulo Archipelago and the Natural Monument of the São
Pedro and São Paulo Archipelago.
101 See generally Ventura and Mello Filho (2020) Forthcoming.
102 The submarine chain gained visibility in 2017 when a study on the submarine mounts made it to
the cover of Science Magazine. A comprehensive MSR project started in February 2018 with the
purpose to map out the biodiversity inhabiting such mounts and exploring its economic potential
and relevance to ocean services—uniting researchers from Espírito Santo, Pará and Paraíba. See
Pinheiro et al. (2015) online.
103 Fellet (2018) online.
104 The Brazilian National Department of Mineral Production (DNPM) has already granted two
licenses for the exploitation of rhodolite banks (limestone kelp and other organisms) and coral reefs
in the Vitória-Trindade chain.
10.2 How Far Has Brazil Gone?
331
2016. Secondly, consideration by policy-makers of two large marine ecosystems
(LME) off the Brazilian coast, the East and South areas, where similar strategies to
manage natural resources were drafted. That occurred even though the largest part of
Brazilian oil reserves is located off the South coast, which suggests that oil and gas
activities were not a factor considered by Brazilian marine policy-makers when
defining marine conservation strategies.
Yet, the greatest motive for Brazil’s reaching the Aichi Target was the designation of two giant MPAs within the EEZ of the Brazilian Atlantic Archipelago of São
Pedro e São Paulo, as well as the Vitória and Trindade Islands.
100 Within the MPAs,
which are mostly of “sustainable use”, there are areas of a “natural monument”,
which are no-touch zones for commercial activities. The MPAs combined add
approx. 900,000 km
2 of open seas to Brazilian protected areas, a decision supported
by environmentalists and backed the Ministries of Defense and the Navy. This
author has co-published a peer-reviewed paper on the Brazilian jurisdictional assertions over the Archipelago, claiming that the declaration of the MPAs around the
islands crowns the uncontested Brazilian jurisdiction over the islands’ EEZ.
101
Surrounding the Vitória-Trindade submarine chain, a submarine mount previously unknown to the Brazilian population,
102 its corals have been described as “a
tropical forest at the bottom of the sea”.
103 Altogether, there were 30 submarine
mounts, between 30 and 150-meters deep. The list of living organisms inhabiting the
mounts reaches 270 species of reef fish—24 of them threatened by extinction, one of
the highest rates of diversity among all the islands of the Atlantic. All those
ecological riches have been threatened by fishing and mining.
104 Following public
consultations, the Federal Government declared an MPA in the region, of about
450,000 km
2 , approximately the area of Sweden. Both MPAs will be co-managed by
the Ministries of Environment and Defense, which is considered as an innovative
approach for protected areas.
Implementation issues still persist, though. Designating such massive MPAs does
not mean that immediate environmental, species and habitat conservation has been
100 Decree no. 9.312 creates the MPA of the Trindade and Martim Vaz Archipelago and the Trinity
and Martim Vaz Islands Natural Monument and Mount Columbia; while Decree no. 9.313/08
creates the MPA of the São Pedro and São Paulo Archipelago and the Natural Monument of the São
Pedro and São Paulo Archipelago.
101 See generally Ventura and Mello Filho (2020) Forthcoming.
102 The submarine chain gained visibility in 2017 when a study on the submarine mounts made it to
the cover of Science Magazine. A comprehensive MSR project started in February 2018 with the
purpose to map out the biodiversity inhabiting such mounts and exploring its economic potential
and relevance to ocean services—uniting researchers from Espírito Santo, Pará and Paraíba. See
Pinheiro et al. (2015) online.
103 Fellet (2018) online.
104 The Brazilian National Department of Mineral Production (DNPM) has already granted two
licenses for the exploitation of rhodolite banks (limestone kelp and other organisms) and coral reefs
in the Vitória-Trindade chain.
10.2 How Far Has Brazil Gone?
331