INSIGHTS THE BRAZILIAN FOREST CODE FINALLY CAN BE IMPLEMENTED. WHAT’S NEXT?

The document outlines the legal outcomes of a Supreme Court decision on the Brazilian Forest Code, detailing the special regimes for landowners who deforested before July 2008, the role of the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA), and specific rules for Legal Forest Reserves and Permanent Preservation Areas (APP).

• The Supreme Court established a constitutional temporal milestone of July 2008, creating a special legal regime for landowners who illegally deforested prior to this date. These individuals can access flexible regularization for Permanent Preservation Areas (APP) and Legal Forest Reserves, and have their environmental fines suspended provided they enroll in the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA) and sign a Commitment Agreement.
• Landowners who deforested after July 2008 face stricter requirements than those who deforested before that date. They must immediately stop agricultural or forestry activities in those areas, recover the entire area according to strict Forest Code requirements, and are not eligible for the suspension of fines and sanctions.
• The Supreme Court upheld several exemptions and flexibility measures for Legal Forest Reserves: small properties (up to four fiscal models) deforested before July 2008 are exempt from restoring deficits; deforestation that complied with legislation at the time of occurrence is exempt from recovery; and up to 50% of the recovery area may consist of exotic species.
• The Supreme Court introduced a new requirement for off-site compensation of Legal Forest Reserves, stating that compensation areas must share the same "ecological identity" rather than just being within the same biome. The document notes this creates uncertainty because "ecological identity" is not legally defined.
• In the Legal Amazon, the Legal Forest Reserve requirement may be reduced from 80% to 50% in specific municipalities or states where public Protected Areas and homologated Indigenous Lands occupy a significant portion of the territory (over 50% for municipalities and over 65% for states with approved Ecological-Economic Zoning). This reduction is not an immediate right but depends on public authority decisions.
• The Supreme Court ruled that intermittent water springs are now classified as Permanent Preservation Areas (APP), requiring landowners to rectify their Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) to declare these areas accordingly.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2018). INSIGHTS THE BRAZILIAN FOREST CODE FINALLY CAN BE IMPLEMENTED. WHAT’S NEXT? https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CPI_Agroicone_Insights_Forest_Code_-_Whats_Next.pdf

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. INSIGHTS THE BRAZILIAN FOREST CODE FINALLY CAN BE IMPLEMENTED. WHAT’S NEXT? 2018. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CPI_Agroicone_Insights_Forest_Code_-_Whats_Next.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=INSIGHTS THE BRAZILIAN FOREST CODE FINALLY CAN BE IMPLEMENTED. WHAT’S NEXT? |date=March 2018 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CPI_Agroicone_Insights_Forest_Code_-_Whats_Next.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2018insights, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{INSIGHTS THE BRAZILIAN FOREST CODE FINALLY CAN BE IMPLEMENTED. WHAT’S NEXT?}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2018}, month = mar, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CPI_Agroicone_Insights_Forest_Code_-_Whats_Next.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }