Brazilian Senate Environment Committee Approves Suspension of Decree Allowing Cave Destruction
Brazil's Senate Environment Commission votes to suspend a decree allowing destruction of protected caves, emphasizing constitutional preservation of natural heritage.
- • Senate Environment Commission approved suspension of Decree 10.935 authorizing cave destruction.
- • Decree permits irreversible impacts on significant caves, especially due to mining activities.
- • Senators highlighted constitutional protection of caves as federal assets and cultural heritage.
- • Proposal now advances to the Commission of Constitution and Justice for further review.
Key details
On December 2, 2025, Brazil’s Senate Environment Commission (Comissão de Meio Ambiente - CMA) voted in favor of a legislative proposal to suspend Decree 10.935, which authorizes the destruction of caves considered of significant ecological or cultural importance for projects classified as public utility. The Projeto de Decreto Legislativo (PDL) 1/2022, led by Senator Fabiano Contarato (PT-ES) and supported by Senator Leila Barros (PDT-DF), seeks to halt this authorization to preserve Brazil’s natural cave heritage.
Senator Leila Barros emphasized that natural underground cavities are protected by the Brazilian Constitution as federal assets and part of the country’s cultural heritage. She criticized the 2022 decree for allowing irreversible impacts on caves, particularly due to mining activities, and pointed out that the decree removes important evaluative criteria for cave significance, including ecological interactions and unique characteristics. Barros also raised concerns about the decree’s retroactive application to environmental licensing processes, creating legal uncertainty.
Senator Contarato argued that the Executive branch exceeded its constitutional authority by modifying protections for caves without proper legislative approval. He emphasized that the Constitution requires legal changes to protected natural spaces to be enacted through legislation, maintaining the integrity of these protected attributes. Natural caves in Brazil are defined as human-accessible subterranean spaces formed by natural processes and are classified based on their ecological, biological, geological, and cultural relevance.
The proposal will proceed to the Comissão de Constituição e Justiça (CCJ) for further examination. Additionally, the committee voted against other related proposals that sought similar suspensions or opposed environmental instructions already revoked, demonstrating the focus on maintaining strong environmental protections.
This development reflects ongoing political debates in Brazil about the balance between economic activities like mining and environmental conservation, highlighting the importance of legislative oversight in protecting ecologically sensitive natural features such as caves.
This article was synthesized and translated from native language sources to provide English-speaking readers with local perspectives.