In 2009, the city hall of São Bento do Sul/SC began discussions regarding the implementation of the Payment for Environmental Services (PES) in the Rio Vermelho sub-basin, where the water that serves the city of about 86,000 inhabitants is collected. . In 2010, the law that made this feat possible was published, but it was only in 2011 that the “Rio Vermelho Water Producer Program” was implemented, with the publication of the decree that regulated the law. The program was also included in the Management Plan for the Environmental Preservation Area (APA) Rio Vermelho Humboldt. RMS, a forestry-based company operating in the region, joined the program in 2019 and, at the end of last year, was the first forestry company in Santa Catarina to receive a PSA.
More than the financial value, R$ 6,000, came public recognition for the environmental services provided within the Rio Vermelho basin, which supplies the municipality in the North Plateau of Santa Catarina. The company is part of a group of 36 landowners who, in some way, contribute to the quality of water in the region.
“RMS, owner of properties and forest assets in the same basin, a pioneer in the preservation of protected areas, contributed substantially to the implementation of the program, having been the first company in the forestry sector to receive the payment destined to the producers enrolled in the program” , says Juliana Kammer, the company’s Environmental supervisor. “We are part of the PSA Management Committee and the APA Rio Vermelho Management Committee. In recent years, we have made the property available for demonstrating actions that minimize environmental impacts and contribute to the conservation of the soil, rivers, in addition to dealing with recovery techniques for degraded areas”, she concludes.
The PSA is a tool that encourages the conservation and preservation of natural resources. Payment is a form of recognition for landowners who provide environmental services and guarantee the maintenance and improvement of the ecosystem in which they operate.
RMS is a company that is part of the Santa Catarina Association of Forest Companies (ACR), an entity that in recent years has also worked to ensure that the benefits brought by cultivated trees are recognized. “It is what we call “green currency”. The receipt of a PSA by an associate proves something we have known for a long time, that the forest-based sector is extremely cautious and beneficial to the environment in which it operates”, commented the executive director of ACR, Mauro Murara Jr.
