The Unicamp rectory released this Monday (28) a note about the tragedy in Brumadinho. In the statement, the Rectory highlights the importance of science to avoid disasters of this type and calls for more efficiency in environmental policies. Read below:
Also listen to an interview with rector Marcelo Knobel on CBN radio.
Unicamp note on the tragedy in Brumadinho
The tragedy in Brumadinho, which occurred just three years after the collapse of the dam in Mariana, with equally tragic dimensions, exposes issues that need to be faced with transparency and rigor. It is not possible to establish how long society will take to recover from the human impact, but it is imperative to reevaluate environmental licensing policies and establish urgent measures that guarantee the safety of the population, the environment and biodiversity.
Tragedies like those in Brumadinho and Mariana are never the result of isolated factors. There is a whole chain of events that interconnects different actors, from those responsible for periodic inspections of risk structures and the high levels of operating companies, to parliamentarians who formulate public policies, the representatives who sanction them and the Judiciary who, ultimately In this instance, it should ensure social security and ensure that the law is complied with within deadlines that avoid impunity.
In this context, the scientific community is also included, which over the years and from different governments, has been offering solid subsidies for the adoption of more efficient environmental policies. The participation of science has been decisive in several international meetings, such as the Earth Summit, Eco-92 and Rio +20, in which goals, projects for the drafting of laws and environmental protection measures were established with the aim to reduce impacts on the environment and allow economic development in a sustainable manner.
From a national point of view, the scientific community has been prodigal in producing and disseminating studies, analyzes and warnings that, if they had been taken seriously by governments, would have prevented disasters like those in Mariana and Brumadinho. Although the 1988 Constitution established the parameters for a Brazilian environmental policy, the control mechanisms for business activities in this area have proven to be inefficient in containing environmental damage, which has long been denounced by scientists who follow the sector.
The national history of events of this type highlights a pattern of behavior on the part of the authorities and companies involved, which has proven to be harmful to society. Once the initial impact has passed, generally accompanied by protests and social outcry, the tendency is to become complacent and, shortly thereafter, forgotten. Mariana's tragedy occurred just three years ago. It is inconceivable that, after this short period, a new disaster would occur as if it were something unprecedented and isolated.
Unicamp, which is proud to belong to the Brazilian universities that contribute, in an incisive and constant way, to the development of more efficient environmental public policies, publicly expresses its solidarity with the families and friends of the victims in Brumadinho at this time of deep national consternation . And it reiterates its collaboration with society, in the expectation that the knowledge generated in its laboratories and classrooms will be valued by all spheres, so that the State can establish the necessary conditions for a process of economic and social development that respects the sustainability and safety parameters.
Dean of Unicamp
Campinas, January 28, 2019.
