State of Rondônia and Public Prosecutor’s Office of the State of Rondônia vs. invaders of the Guajará-Mirim State Park and its Amortization Zone (illegal occupation of the Guajará-Mirim State Park)

On October 27, 2020, the State of Rondônia and the Rondônia State Public Prosecutor's Office (MPRO) filed a Public Civil Action (ACP), with a request for injunctive relief against several individuals who invaded the area of the Guajará-Mirim State Park and its buffer zone, a region called “Bico do Parque”, without authorization from the competent body. The news of the invasion of the areas by around 70 people was received by the State Secretariat for Environmental Development (SEDAM) and the military police in September 2020, and the suppression of native vegetation and the construction of buildings were found. After the intervention of the state authorities, the private individuals vacated the park area. Still, they continued in its buffer zone and more people joined the group of occupiers, threatening to invade the conservation unit again. As an injunction, the authors request: (i) to order the defendants to refrain from entering the state park and to withdraw from its buffer zone; (ii) for the bodies with police powers to notify the defendants and negotiate the non-occupation of the areas and their withdrawal, while maintaining surveillance at the site. On the merits, it is requested that the requests for urgent relief be confirmed and that the defendants be ordered not to occupy the areas in question, under penalty of a daily fine. On November 5th, 2020, the request for injunctive relief was granted and a judgment was handed down against the occupants of the areas, ordering them to vacate. The defendants filed an appeal. On November 21st, 2023 a judgment was handed down ruling on the appeal and this is the procedural document that contains an express discussion directly related to climate change. In arguing the merits of the case, the ruling emphasized the importance of the Guajará-Mirim State Park for preserving biodiversity in the state of Rondônia. It was emphasized that illegal possessions cannot be converted into legal ones in order to implement agricultural projects that disregard the importance of the Amazon biome. It was argued that climate change has led to a recommendation to create conservation units and that Brazil is the sixth country with the highest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 60% of which come from land use, land use change and forestry sector. In addition, the ruling explains the impacts of deforestation on water security, climate, soil, air, biodiversity, health, the lives of future generations and the economy. It highlighted Advisory Opinion 23/2017 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which stated that the effects of climate change affect the realization of human rights. In addition, it argued that the Brazilian legal system, due to the socio-environmental function of property, does not support property that harms the rights of others. It concludes that the occupation of the areas that are the subject of the lawsuit is recent and that current legislation does not allow anthropization in these places. Therefore, the appeal was dismissed