A Second Panel of the Federal Regional Court of the 5th Region (TRF5) maintained the suspension of entry fees for visitors who are intended exclusively for Jericoacoara Villagein Ceará.
The decision denied an appeal from the ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation)which sought to implement the fee of R$50 per day, initially scheduled to start in March 2025. The board understood that the charge for traffic towards the village, which is outside the park’s limits, violates the right of movement.
The central controversy of the case is the fact that the only land access to the village of Jericoacoara passes through the Jericocoara National Park.
O ICMBio argued that the exemption of entry for everyone in the Village harms the collection, which aims to self-finance and organize the visit.
Although the village is administered by the municipality of Jijoca from Jericoacoara and does not form part of the Conservation Unit area, the concessionaire Urbia Cataratas Jericoacoara intended to make entry into the village conditional on payment of the park ticket.
O TRF5however, highlighted that the concessionaire can legally charge those who want to visit the natural attractions, but not those who just cross the area to reach the pre-existing community.
According to the magistrate reporting the case, allowing such a charge would be equivalent to creating a toll not provided for by lawa practice prohibited by the Federal Constitution.
