Decisão do STF sobre o novo Código Florestal enfraquece a Cota de Reserva Ambiental (CRA)

The authors argue that the Brazilian Supreme Court's decision on the 2012 Forest Code introduces a critical inconsistency regarding the Environmental Reserve Quote (CRA). While the court upheld the CRA's constitutionality, it diverged on the geographic criteria for compensation: requiring 'ecological identity' in one instance while maintaining the broader 'biome' criterion in another. This contradiction creates legal insecurity for rural producers and environmental agencies and may weaken the CRA market by making it more restrictive than other compensation alternatives.

• The Environmental Reserve Quote (CRA) was established by the new Forest Code to allow rural property owners with a Legal Reserve deficit to achieve compliance at a lower cost by purchasing quotes from properties with surplus native vegetation within the same biome.
• The Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) created a legal contradiction by ruling that the 'biome' criterion for CRA compensation in article 48, paragraph 2, must be interpreted as requiring 'ecological identity', while simultaneously upholding the 'biome' criterion in article 66, paragraph 6.
• The shift toward an 'ecological identity' requirement may weaken the CRA market because other Legal Reserve compensation methods remain less restrictive, and there is no consensus on the definition of 'ecological identity', leading to potential discretion by state environmental agencies.

APA

Chiavari, J., & Lopes, C. L. (2018). Decisão do STF sobre o novo Código Florestal enfraquece a Cota de Reserva Ambiental (CRA). Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CPI_Artigo_Decisão_do_STF_sobre_o_novo_Código_Florestal_enfraquece_a_Cota_de_Reserva_Ambiental_CRA.pdf

Chicago

Chiavari, Joana, and Cristina Leme Lopes. Decisão do STF sobre o novo Código Florestal enfraquece a Cota de Reserva Ambiental (CRA). Climate Policy Initiative, 2018. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CPI_Artigo_Decisão_do_STF_sobre_o_novo_Código_Florestal_enfraquece_a_Cota_de_Reserva_Ambiental_CRA.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chiavari |first1=Joana |last2=Lopes |first2=Cristina Leme |title=Decisão do STF sobre o novo Código Florestal enfraquece a Cota de Reserva Ambiental (CRA) |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=March 2018 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CPI_Artigo_Decisão_do_STF_sobre_o_novo_Código_Florestal_enfraquece_a_Cota_de_Reserva_Ambiental_CRA.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chiavari2018deciso, author = {Chiavari, Joana and Lopes, Cristina Leme}, title = {{Decisão do STF sobre o novo Código Florestal enfraquece a Cota de Reserva Ambiental (CRA)}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2018}, month = mar, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CPI_Artigo_Decisão_do_STF_sobre_o_novo_Código_Florestal_enfraquece_a_Cota_de_Reserva_Ambiental_CRA.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }