WHERE DOES BRAZIL STAND WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FOREST CODE?

The report evaluates the state-level implementation of Brazil's Forest Code, highlighting that while most states have made progress in CAR registration, significant bottlenecks exist in the validation phase and the rollout of the PRA. It argues against amending the federal law without considering state-level efforts and emphasizes the need for technical resources, transparency, and a clearer role for the federal government to support lagging states, particularly in the northeast region.

• Brazil has the potential to double its agricultural production using only existing croplands, avoiding the need to clear new land.
• While all states have progressed in registering properties in the CAR, the validation process is hindered by high registration volumes, poor data quality, and a lack of human and technical resources. Ten states have not yet started the validation process.
• The implementation of the PRA is lagging; only five states have effectively implemented it with functional operations, signed commitment agreements, and monitored restoration plans for Legal Forest Reserves and Permanent Preservation Areas (APP).
• Regional disparities are evident, with the north and central-west regions showing the most progress in Forest Code implementation, while the northeast region is the furthest behind, including six states with no regulation at all.
• There is significant legal and operational uncertainty regarding the federal PRA, including a lack of rules for joining the program and potential legal challenges based on Brazil's federative principle.
• Twelve states have not yet established any rules for environmental compliance in APPs and legal reserves. The most common method for Legal Forest Reserve compensation is the donation of private areas within public Conservation Units to the government, adopted by twelve states.
• States are heavily dependent on the federal government for the National System for Rural Environmental Registry (SICAR) platform; any federal delays or disruptions directly impact state-level implementation of the Forest Code.

APA

Chiavari, J., & Lopes, C. L. (2020). WHERE DOES BRAZIL STAND WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FOREST CODE? Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Executive-Summary-CAR-PRA.pdf

Chicago

Chiavari, Joana, and Cristina Leme Lopes. WHERE DOES BRAZIL STAND WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FOREST CODE? Climate Policy Initiative, 2020. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Executive-Summary-CAR-PRA.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chiavari |first1=Joana |last2=Lopes |first2=Cristina Leme |title=WHERE DOES BRAZIL STAND WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FOREST CODE? |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=January 2020 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Executive-Summary-CAR-PRA.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chiavari2020where, author = {Chiavari, Joana and Lopes, Cristina Leme}, title = {{WHERE DOES BRAZIL STAND WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FOREST CODE?}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2020}, month = jan, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Executive-Summary-CAR-PRA.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }