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This report maps family farmers in Brazil's Caatinga and Cerrado biomes, highlighting a stark divide in productivity and vulnerability. While Cerrado farmers have larger plots and higher yields, Caatinga farmers face extreme poverty, high illiteracy (over 50%), and a heavy reliance on subsistence farming and cisterns for water. The report argues that a 'just rural transition' must move beyond generic agricultural policies to provide targeted social support for the most vulnerable and 'leapfrog' technological opportunities for those interested in commercializing sustainable, low-carbon produce.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative provides a baseline analysis of smallholders in Brazil's Caatinga and Cerrado biomes to inform a 'rural just transition.' It highlights significant disparities in productivity, resource access, and socioeconomic vulnerability between the two regions, arguing that a one-size-fits-all agricultural policy is insufficient. The analysis emphasizes that smallholders in the Caatinga are particularly prone to poverty and subsistence farming, while those in the Cerrado are more integrated into commercial markets, though both face barriers to adopting sustainable, low-carbon production methods.

This 2023 report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) provides a comprehensive analysis of the implementation of the Brazilian Forest Code (Law No. 12.651/2012) across Brazilian states. It focuses on the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA), detailing the progress in registration, data analysis, and the formalization of environmental recovery commitments. The document highlights a significant acceleration in 2023, with several states adopting automated analysis tools and expanding the number of signed commitment terms, while identifying persistent bottlenecks in communication with landowners and the lack of technical staff in certain regions.

This 2023 report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) provides a comprehensive diagnostic of the implementation of the Brazilian Forest Code (Law No. 12.651/2012) across Brazilian states as of 2022. It focuses specifically on the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA), analyzing the progress of registration, data analysis, and the actual restoration of Permanent Preservation Areas (APP) and Legal Reserves.

This policy brief analyzes the 10-year implementation of the Brazilian Forest Code, highlighting a severe lack of uniformity across states. While some states have fully implemented the CAR and PRA systems, others remain stagnant. The analysis of CAR data is identified as the primary bottleneck, with only 2% of national registries fully concluded. The document proposes a seven-point agenda for the federal government, including the creation of a national implementation plan, strengthening the SICAR system, and improving the integration of the Forest Code with anti-deforestation policies and rural credit incentives.

This briefing by the Climate Policy Initiative/PUC-Rio analyzes how ongoing legal controversies in Brazil are hindering the implementation of the 2012 Forest Code (Law No. 12.651). It details four primary legal disputes: the conflict between the Forest Code and the Atlantic Forest Law, the determination of temporal milestones for Legal Reserve requirements under Article 68, the validity of revising previous environmental commitment terms, and the contradictory criteria for Environmental Reserve Quotas (CRA).

This document is a legal bibliography listing the federal and state laws, decrees, and regulations consulted for a 2022 report on the implementation of the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA) across various Brazilian states.

The Guarantee Fund for Biogas (GFB) is a proposed financial instrument designed to unlock public and private credit for independent biogas project developers in Brazil by providing construction-phase loan guarantees. By acting as a CVM-compliant fixed-income fund investing in treasury bills, the GFB addresses the lack of collateral that prevents smaller developers from accessing existing credit lines, aiming to scale Brazil's biogas capacity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes the rural credit market in the Brazilian Cerrado biome, highlighting a concentration of financial flows toward large-scale producers and soy production, while noting a scarcity of credit for small and medium-sized family farmers.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes the characteristics of rural credit in the Brazilian Cerrado biome. It highlights a significant concentration of financial flows toward large producers and the expansion of soybean production, contrasting this with limited credit access for small and medium-sized family farmers. The study also notes a growing trend of private financing sources, although public banks continue to dominate the distribution of credit.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes the rural credit market in the Brazilian Cerrado biome, highlighting a significant concentration of financial flows toward large-scale producers and soy production, contrasted with limited credit access for small and medium-sized family farmers.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative and PUC-Rio analyzes the capital requirements necessary to maximize agricultural productivity in Brazil without increasing deforestation, focusing on crop and beef output at the municipality level.

This 2021 report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) provides a comprehensive analysis of the implementation of the Brazilian Forest Code (Law No. 12.651/2012) across Brazilian states. It focuses on the progress of the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA), identifying significant bottlenecks in the analysis and validation of registries and the low rate of producer adherence to regularization programs. The report highlights disparities between states, noting that while registration is advanced nationwide, the transition to actual environmental recovery remains a major challenge.

This executive summary provides a 2021 snapshot of the implementation of Brazil's Native Vegetation Protection Law (Forest Code), specifically focusing on the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Compliance Program (PRA). While property registration is well-advanced nationwide, the report identifies significant bottlenecks in the analysis and validation of these registrations and a lack of producer interest in joining the PRA, leaving the final stage of environmental regularization as a major challenge across most states.

This 2020 report by the Climate Policy Initiative and PUC-Rio monitors the state-level implementation of Brazil's Native Vegetation Protection Law (Forest Code), specifically focusing on the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Compliance Program (PRA). It identifies the analysis and validation of CAR registrations as the primary bottleneck and notes that while some states have made progress, many lack operational PRAs and sufficient normative frameworks for forest restoration.

This 2020 report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) analyzes the implementation of the Brazilian Forest Code (Law No. 12.651/2012) across Brazilian states, focusing on the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA). It identifies significant disparities in progress, noting that while CAR registration is widespread, the analysis and validation phase remains a critical bottleneck. The report details state-level regulations for restoring Permanent Preservation Areas (APP) and Legal Reserves (RL), the role of the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB) in providing technological infrastructure, and the legal uncertainties surrounding the potential implementation of a Federal PRA.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) analyzes the implementation of the Brazilian Forest Code (Law 12.651/2012) across Brazilian states, focusing on the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA). It evaluates state-level regulations, the progress of CAR validation, and the operational status of PRAs, highlighting significant regional disparities in progress and the technical challenges facing state environmental agencies.

This report by Friends of the Earth International criticizes the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for financing large-scale, export-oriented agrofuel projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. The document argues that these projects exacerbate social and environmental inequities, threaten biodiversity, and may increase greenhouse gas emissions due to land-use changes, rather than serving as a viable climate solution.

This report by Friends of the Earth International criticizes the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for financing large-scale, export-oriented biofuel projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. The document argues that these projects exacerbate social inequality, threaten biodiversity, and may increase greenhouse gas emissions due to land-use changes, while failing to alleviate rural poverty.

This report examines the environmental impacts of land use change (LUC) in the La Plata Basin, with a specific focus on the Brazilian Cerrado. It analyzes how the expansion of international commodities, forestry, cattle ranching, and biofuel crops—particularly sugarcane—affects soil carbon stocks and overall soil quality. The document highlights the role of agricultural technology in enabling this expansion and evaluates different management practices, such as no-tillage and the elimination of pre-harvest burning, to mitigate carbon loss and soil degradation.