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The report provides a comprehensive snapshot of the implementation of Brazil's Forest Code (Law no. 12,651/2012), focusing on the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Compliance Program (PRA). While registration in the CAR is largely consolidated, the analysis of this data remains a critical bottleneck, with only 2% of national registrations fully analyzed. The document identifies significant disparities between states, noting that a few, such as Acre, Mato Grosso, and Pará, have completed all implementation stages, while others like Pernambuco, Piauí, and Roraima have stagnated. Key challenges include institutional gaps, lack of technical resources for forest restoration, and the illegal use of CAR for land grabbing on public lands. To address these, the authors recommend a national implementation plan, strengthening the SICAR IT infrastructure, adopting dynamic analysis tools, and aligning the Forest Code with rural credit incentives and anti-deforestation policies.

The report provides a detailed 'radiography' of how Brazilian states are implementing the Forest Code, highlighting that while CAR registration is consolidated, the analysis of these registries and the subsequent execution of the PRA remain significant bottlenecks. It identifies a heterogeneous landscape where a few states like Pará and Mato Grosso lead in implementation, while others remain stagnant. The document emphasizes technical challenges, such as insufficient cartographic bases and poor communication with landowners, as well as institutional hurdles like the instability of the national Sicar system. It also notes a concerning legal precedent in Goiás, where state legislation has introduced rules more flexible than federal law, potentially undermining the Forest Code's integrity.

The policy brief provides a detailed 'radiography' of the implementation of the Brazilian Forest Code, focusing on the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA). It identifies a significant gap between the initial registration of properties and the final stage of environmental regularization, noting that while registration is consolidated, the analysis of data remains a primary bottleneck. The authors highlight extreme heterogeneity among states, with a few leaders like Mato Grosso and Pará, and others remaining stagnant. The document outlines systemic challenges across individual, institutional, technical-economic, and legal dimensions and recommends a national implementation plan, strengthening of the SICAR system, and better integration with agricultural credit and anti-deforestation policies.

The report analyzes deforestation in the Amazon biome from 2012 to 2021, highlighting that federal public lands and private areas accounted for 45% and 28% of deforestation, respectively. It argues for a coordinated strategy where the federal government focuses on rural settlements and land tenure regularization, while state governments prioritize the implementation of the Forest Code on private lands. The study emphasizes a recent acceleration of deforestation in federal lands and areas without land tenure information, particularly from 2019 onwards, and calls for improved public data integration to enhance transparency and effectiveness.

Mighty Earth's October 2022 investigation reveals that Carrefour continued to sell beef from suspended JBS slaughterhouses in Brazil, particularly through its Atacadão and Sam's Club stores. Despite public claims of suspending suppliers in Rondônia, the group's supply chain remains heavily dependent on JBS, with 27% of identified beef products coming from ten slaughterhouses linked to recent deforestation. The report also highlights illegal fires at the Fazenda Rondon property supplying JBS and criticizes Carrefour's 2026 strategy as lacking ambition and transparency regarding both beef and soy sourcing.

The report examines BNDES's role in the Legal Amazon from 2009 to 2019, finding that while the North Region receives the highest share of disbursements relative to its GDP, it receives the lowest total share of BNDES funds. Financing is heavily concentrated in large-scale infrastructure, specifically hydroelectric power generation, which often serves the rest of Brazil while local populations remain energy-poor. The authors argue that BNDES has a significant opportunity to pivot toward the energy transition by replacing diesel-based isolated systems with renewable energy and improving basic services like sanitation and internet access to reduce regional inequality.

The report examines BNDES's role in the Legal Amazon, finding that while the North Region receives the highest share of disbursements relative to its GDP, it receives the lowest total share of BNDES funds. Financing is heavily concentrated in large-scale hydroelectric infrastructure, often serving the rest of Brazil while local populations remain dependent on expensive, polluting diesel generation. The authors argue for a transition toward renewable energy, decentralized solar power, and improved basic services to reduce regional inequality.

The report highlights a paradox in the Legal Amazon: while the region hosts Brazil's largest hydroelectric plants and generates over 25.7% of national electricity, approximately four million of its residents lack access to the National Interconnected System (SIN). Around three million people rely on isolated systems, 97% of which are powered by expensive and polluting diesel fuel, while nearly one million people have no reliable public energy access at all. These isolated systems are heavily subsidized by the Fuel Consumption Fund (CCC), which reached an estimated value of over R$ 10 billion in 2022. The document finds that municipalities with isolated systems consistently perform worse across key socioeconomic indicators, including the Human Development Index and GDP per capita, compared to connected municipalities. To address this, the report recommends modifying auction rules to make renewables more competitive, incentivizing decentralized solar power, and improving the 'More Light for the Amazon' program through better oversight and community involvement.

The document examines the high socio-environmental costs of logistics infrastructure in the Legal Amazon, such as deforestation and carbon emissions. It proposes replacing inconsistent geographic-based delimitation of a project's 'area of influence' with a 'market access approach' based on international trade literature. Using the BR-319 highway as a case study, the report demonstrates how this method more accurately identifies affected populations and environmental risks, including impacts on 49 indigenous territories and 49 conservation units. It concludes with policy recommendations for the Brazilian Ministry of Infrastructure to mandate early risk assessments and transparent, public-domain methodologies for delimiting influence areas.

The document analyzes the energy landscape of the Legal Amazon, highlighting the disparity between the region's role as a major energy exporter via the National Interconnected System (SIN) and the internal reality of 4 million people disconnected from it. It examines 'Sistemas Isolados' (Isolated Systems) and populations without any electricity access, linking these energy deficits to poor socioeconomic indicators. The report criticizes the current auction model for isolated systems for favoring diesel over renewables and evaluates the 'Mais Luz para a Amazônia' program, providing recommendations for a transition toward decentralized solar energy and improved regulatory frameworks.

The report identifies a critical lack of satisfactory federal legislation to resolve the overlap of Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) inscriptions on Indigenous Lands (TIs), noting that such overlaps are often used for land grabbing. It finds that most Brazilian states lack specific strategies for identifying and cancelling these irregular registrations, often relying on optional federal filters that only detect overlaps with fully homologated TIs, thereby leaving lands in the demarcation process vulnerable. The document analyzes state-level experiences—highlighting Pará as the only state with a specific cancellation strategy—and evaluates two pending bills (PL 4450/2021 and PL 486/2022) that aim to prohibit CAR inscriptions on public lands but still contain administrative gaps. It concludes with policy recommendations, including the need for the Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA) to revise Portaria 121/2021 and for Funai to maintain updated georeferenced data for all TIs to support fair and effective cancellation processes.

The document serves as a legislative annex listing the legal framework governing the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA) in Brazil. It details federal laws, such as Law No. 12,651/2012, and specific state-level regulations for 23 Brazilian states and the Federal District, covering topics such as native vegetation protection, legal reserve compensation, and environmental licensing.

The study finds that while forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon are not systematically used as a direct first step to clear vegetation—with only 11% of fire-affected areas being deforested within three years—they often serve as a leading indicator of imminent deforestation in the surrounding vicinity. This association is significantly stronger in rural settlements and occupied public lands, suggesting fires may facilitate land grabbing. Regionally, the link between fire and nearby deforestation has strengthened in states such as Acre, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, and Roraima, peaking in 2017.

Between 2013 and 2020, approximately 42% of fire hotspots in the Brazilian Amazon occurred in previously undisturbed forests, affecting an estimated 18,000 square kilometers annually. While only 11% of fire-affected forest areas transitioned to clear-cut deforestation within three years, fire serves as a strong regional indicator of risk, with high rates of subsequent deforestation occurring in the surrounding areas. This association is particularly strong in rural settlements and public land holdings, where fire may facilitate land grabbing. Regional analysis shows an intensification of this fire-deforestation link in states such as Acre, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, and Roraima, especially around 2017.

The document analyzes 14 large-scale railroad and highway projects in the Legal Amazon, finding significant gaps in the viability phase. Key issues include the lack of a mandatory sequence between Technical, Economic and Environmental Viability Studies (EVTEA) and Environmental Impact Studies (EIA), and a severe lack of transparency, with 57% of essential documents unavailable. The authors recommend mandating that EVTEA precede EIA to identify risks earlier and establishing a centralized database for all concession documents.

The document finds that cattle productivity in the Legal Amazon is uniformly low and extensive, meaning that disseminating the practices of the region's most productive municipalities would only increase production value by 17.6-29.4%. This is significantly lower than the potential gains seen in grain production. To achieve major productivity increases without deforestation, the authors argue for the adoption of new technologies—such as crop-livestock integration systems (ICLS)—and the combatting of land grabbing and illegal deforestation, which currently incentivize low-productivity extensive ranching for land speculation.

The report finds that livestock productivity in the Legal Amazon is highly homogeneous and characterized by an extensive production model with low input use. While disseminating existing best practices from the most productive municipalities could increase production value by 17.6-29.4% without further deforestation, this is significantly lower than the potential seen in crop agriculture. The authors argue that substantial gains require a new business model involving technologies not yet used at scale, such as integrated crop-livestock systems, and the combatting of land grabbing (grilagem), which incentivizes low-productivity extensive ranching for land speculation.

The report defines forest degradation as the partial loss of forest biomass and argues that it is an increasingly relevant threat to the Brazilian Amazon, often acting as a precursor to deforestation. Analyzing data from 2007 to 2016, the study finds that degradation affects a larger area than clear-cut deforestation, averaging 11,000 km² annually. The relationship between degradation and subsequent deforestation varies by land tenure: it is lowest in protected territories and highest in small private properties and rural settlements. The authors suggest that degradation can serve as a leading indicator for imminent environmental damage, necessitating tailored public policies based on governance structures.

The report examines how forest fires, driven by climate change in temperate regions and intentional land clearing in the Amazon, create severe air pollution that impacts large populations. It highlights the acute risks of PM2.5 particulate matter, particularly for children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing conditions, and calls for improved health system preparation, Indigenous-led fire management, and urgent global climate mitigation.

The report highlights the severe health risks posed by biomass burning in the Brazilian Amazon, noting that air quality often exceeds WHO safety limits during the burning season. It emphasizes the disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups, including a 25% increase in respiratory hospitalizations among indigenous people over 50. The document argues that these health crises are exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and limited healthcare access in remote regions, calling for a moratorium on deforestation-related fires and improved air quality monitoring.