Sustainable development and environmental disaster in Minas Gerais: A case of ineffectiveness?

Abstract

Despite national and international cogent norms in favor of sustainable development and penalizing the polluter, the case of the environmental disaster in Mariana proves that standards are not enough, and it is clear that improving prevention structures would have been more effective. A technical report from IBAMA (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources), published in December 2015, reported the deaths of Samarco workers and residents of the affected communities, the displacement of people, the devastation of localities, the destruction of 1,469 hectares of vegetation, including Permanent Preservation Areas, the mortality of aquatic biodiversity and terrestrial fauna, loss and fragmentation of habitats, discontinuation of fishing for an indefinite period, disruption of tourism, changes in freshwater quality standards, Brackish and salt water, the interruption of water supply and the difficulty of generating electricity by the affected hydroelectric plants. The present unpublished text presents the problem described above, contextualizing it according to Brazilian Law and also according to Public International Law, Being a result of what was developed in a lecture given by its authors at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS).