Impactos do novo código florestal brasileiro, Lei Federal nº 12.651/2012

Abstract

The Forest Code (CF) is the main tool of the legislation that regulates land use on private properties in Brazil. The law requires that Areas of Permanent Preservation (APP) are set aside to preserve water resources and prevent erosion and that between 20% and 80% of the rural property area is conserved as Legal Reserve (RL). However, these requirements have historically been ignored. In the Amazon, the most biodiverse biome in the world, with an enormous stock of carbon, the little impact of the Forest Code can lead to global losses. In 2012, revisions to the law included new mechanisms to facilitate law compliance and inhibit new illegal deforestation. This work investigated the responses of Amazon farmers to the new legal context and analyzed the potential impacts of the 2012 CF. First, it was investigated the possibility of rupture of the RL construction as an instrument for environmental conservation after the new CF. The research, outlined by bibliographic and documentary methods, was dedicated to analyze the legal format of RL over time. It was concluded that the new CF made flexible or removed the requirement of RL maintenance, breaking the historical process of its affirmation as a conservation tool. Although it facilitates compliance with the law, the results have indicated that this strategy may not be enough to inhibit the formation of new environmental liabilities. The second paper analyzed the probability of land owners adopt plans for recovering the APP and the extension of these plans, once the decision is made. The data used included a survey applied to land owners, supplemented with georeferenced data of rural properties. It was concluded that the access to rural extension agents and other environmental regulations, such as environmental licensing, have had a significant impact on the development of these plans, suggesting that the 2012 CF has the potential to impact future decisions about land use. Finally, the third paper investigated the probability of landowners in Rondônia wanting to participate in the new Environmental Reserve Quota (CRA) market. The data used in this analysis came from georeferenced data inserted in the Rural Environmental Register (CAR), including responses to the questionnaire applied during the registration process. In addition, socioeconomic data of counties, provided by the IBGE, were used. It was concluded that medium and large rural landowners are likely to drive the CRA trades and the ones with higher opportunity costs of land use are the potential buyers of CRA. There was no evidence that small land owners are willing to participate in this market, which can be environmentally beneficial if the absence of quota offers favors other measures of regularization that promote the increase of forest cover. On the other hand, additional positive incentives for encouraging the conservation of any remaining vegetation on these properties seem to be needed. This work, therefore, suggests that effective efforts and complementary policy, able to support the implementation of the new law, will be essential to the success of the 2012 FC.