Case Name: ADPF 857 (Fires in the Pantanal)

Summary

This is a Claim of Non-Compliance with a Fundamental Precept (ADPF), with a request for preliminary injunction, filed by four political parties against the Federal Government and the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. The objective is for the defendants to present a plan for fire management and prevention in the Pantanal and to take measures to prevent new fires in the region. The plaintiffs allege that the Federal Government has been promoting a policy of dismantling environmental protection agencies, which facilitates the spread of fires in the Pantanal, including on indigenous lands, in addition to failing to present preventive action plans for new fires. They discuss the fires that occurred in the region in 2020. They point out that it is the responsibility of the defendant states, in conjunction with the Federal Government, to inspect and monitor fire outbreaks that occur in violation of current legislation. They emphasize the biome's relevance, especially for the water cycle in various Brazilian regions, for the communities that depend on it, and for controlling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as for complying with the National Policy on Climate Change - PNMC (Federal Law 12.187/2009). Therefore, the authors argue that the government's omission violates the duties set forth in articles 225, 231, and 23, caput and items VI and VII, of the Federal Constitution and the principles of legality, morality, and transparency. In a preliminary injunction, they request, under penalty of fine: (i) the presentation, by the Federal Government, of an action plan, measures, and Integrated Fire Management (IFM) program to prevent fires in the Pantanal in 2021 and the hiring of firefighters; (ii) that the IFM be reviewed and its implementation monitored by the 4th Coordination and Review Chamber of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (Environment and Cultural Heritage). (iii) that the defendant entities be ordered to concentrate information and measures regarding the fires in a single publicly accessible system; and (v) that plans and measures be submitted to prevent the recurrence of fires in the Pantanal. Finally, confirmation of the precautionary measures is requested.

In April 2024, the requests of ADPF 743, 746 and 857 (registered on this Platform under the names "ADPF 743 (Fires in the Pantanal and Amazon)", "ADPF 746 (Burning in the Pantanal and Amazon Rainforest)" and "ADPF 857 (Burning in the Pantanal)") were partially upheld, having been consolidated for joint judgment due to the similarity of their subject matter. The Court did not declare the state of affairs unconstitutional, but recognized the existence of structural flaws in the policy for protecting the Legal Amazon, imposing a series of measures to combat deforestation so that the Federal Government presents a plan for preventing and combating fires in the Pantanal and the Amazon, with the recovery of the operational capacity of PREVFOGO, discloses data related to the budget and budgetary execution of actions related to environmental protection by the States and the Union during the years 2019 and 2020, and informs, as do the state governments, the authorizations for vegetation suppression.

Afterwards, the judgment was published. It was highlighted...   The Federal Government is resuming environmental protection measures and emphasizes the importance of the Amazon and the Pantanal for maintaining climate balance. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Edson Fachin acknowledged the still unconstitutional state of affairs, a view shared by Justices Luiz Fux and Cármen Lúcia. Fachin stressed that climate jurisprudence exists internationally due to foreign cases. He argued that allowing the repeated violation of the right to an ecologically balanced environment without permitting the Supreme Court to act promptly to "prevent climate chaos and the compromise of Amazonian biodiversity is not consistent with international agreements and the democratic commitment expressed in the Constitutional Charter."

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Main norms mobilized

• Article 225 of the Federal Constitution (CRFB/88)
• Article 231 of the Federal Constitution (CRFB/88)
• Complementary Law 140/2011
• Federal Constitution (CRFB/88)
• Forest Code (Federal Law 12.651/2012)
• National Policy on Climate Change Act - PNMC (Federal Law 12.187/2009)
• Paris Agreement (Federal Decree 9.073/2017)

Case timeline

Case documents