Restoring Brazil's Public Lands: Exploring Public-Private Partnership Options

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative and Amazon 2030 analyzes legal partnership models in Brazilian administrative law to facilitate the large-scale restoration of degraded public lands, particularly in the Amazon. It evaluates the current standard of forestry concessions alongside alternatives such as ordinary tenders, common public service concessions, and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), assessing their viability, risk distribution, and applicability to different land categories.

• Forestry concessions are currently the only government-adopted model for public land restoration with private participation, supported by the Public Forest Management Law (LGFP). While well-established, this model is limited to certain land categories and typically transfers most operational and financial risks to the private concessionaire, which may discourage investment in complex regions like the Amazon.
• Ordinary tenders (common bidding) under Law no. 14,133/2021 offer a flexible alternative for forest planting services, especially in fully protected areas like national parks. In this model, the government pays a fixed fee for planting services, and the state retains ownership of carbon credits and responsibility for long-term conservation, reducing financial risk for the private sector.
• Common public service concessions, governed by Law no. 8,987/1995, could be used for restoration if the activity is legally classified as a public service. This model allows the private sector to manage planting and conservation, with compensation potentially coming from the sale of carbon credits transferred from the public authorities.
• Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) under Law no. 11,079/2004 are identified as highly attractive for vulnerable regions of the Amazon because they allow for a more balanced division of risk and can include public contributions to cover high security and surveillance costs that would otherwise make projects unviable.
• A significant portion of the Amazon's original forest—approximately 84 million hectares (21%)—has been decimated, with about half of that deforestation occurring on public lands. The National Plan for Native Vegetation Recovery (PLANAVEG) for 2025-2028 identifies 1.3 million hectares in federal Protected Areas and 1.7 million hectares in Indigenous Lands as targets for restoration.
• Restoration projects on lands occupied by Traditional Peoples and Communities (PCT) must implement specific socio-environmental safeguards. These include the right to Free Prior and Informed Consultation, respect for cultural rights, fair benefit distribution, and the active participation of communities as partners rather than just beneficiaries.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2024). Restoring Brazil's Public Lands: Exploring Public-Private Partnership Options. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/restoring-brazils-public-lands-exploring-public-private-partnership-options/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Restoring Brazil's Public Lands: Exploring Public-Private Partnership Options. 2024. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/restoring-brazils-public-lands-exploring-public-private-partnership-options/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Restoring Brazil's Public Lands: Exploring Public-Private Partnership Options |date=3 December 2024 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/restoring-brazils-public-lands-exploring-public-private-partnership-options/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2024restoring, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Restoring Brazil's Public Lands: Exploring Public-Private Partnership Options}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/restoring-brazils-public-lands-exploring-public-private-partnership-options/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }