POTENTIAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES FOR CONTINENTAL FISH FARMING ACTIVITIES

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.9734152421115

• Palavras-chave: Environmental compensation, Environmental Reserve Quotas, fish farming, Environmental services, Forest Code.

• Keywords: Environmental compensation, Environmental Reserve Quotas, fish farming, Environmental services, Forest Code.

• Abstract:

  This article analyzes the use of environmental compensation as an economic instrument to support the conservation of natural resources (specifically water and native vegetation) integrated with fish farming in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. This activity faces significant challenges, especially those related to current environmental legislation, in the process of adapting the use and occupation of production structures in permanent preservation areas (APP) and Legal Reserves (RLs). The study maps out the main legal provisions that deal with legal reserve compensation, the environmental regularization of the sector and the Payments for Environmental Services (PES) programs, thereby proposing to investigate the potential ecosystem services possible in the logic of the use and occupation of this activity. The methodology involved researching secondary data, resulting in the identification of nine legal provisions relevant to the subject. The results suggest that projects to conserve water resources and recover native vegetation on properties where this activity takes place could benefit from PES programs. In addition, the compensation of legal reserves can boost new instruments for valuing the ecosystem services present in these rural properties. The study identifies challenges, including the need for a regulatory framework to encourage certain legal provisions, such as consolidating sources of funding for these public policies and the importance of effective implementation of the Environmental Regularization Programs (PRA) that were planned as a step after validation of the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR). The conclusion is that the continuous evolution of PES policies and the implementation of state and national programs reinforce the importance of sustainable practices and the valuation of ecosystem services. In order to overcome these challenges, there is a need to strengthen an intersectoral arrangement, where sectors such as forestry, water resources and the productive sector engage in dialog in order to consolidate and implement existing public policies.